


Eternity

by Forever_Hopeless



Series: Infinity Saga [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Supernatural (TV) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:14:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Hopeless/pseuds/Forever_Hopeless
Summary: “What year is it?”“1995.”
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Jack Kline/Original Male Character(s), Julian Blackthorn/Emma Carstairs, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Infinity Saga [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1256645
Kudos: 4





	1. 0

“You lied to us?” Tony grinds out turning to face Sabrina and Maya after the plane takes off from the field it had landed in. “You let six young adults run off to take on a Mad Man the has the power of the Universe at his will and _lie_ to us about it.”

Sabrina winces as Tony raises his voice, “Kirstin's like my sister, I-”

“She _is_ my _niece_ ! And you let her go on a suicide mission and _lied_ to your own team about it!” The normally light brown eyes were nearly black in his anger. 

“You aren't our team.” Maya snaps harshly. “Our team is in a field halfway across the world fighting a man who killed my future sister-in-law, _your_ biological niece.” The blonde was furious at the hypocritical man. “It's not like you guys tell your team everything. Need I mention Ultron?” She spins to face Natasha, “SHydra?” and last her eyes land on Steve, “Bucky?”

Sabrina steps in before Maya dug them an early grave. “You are training us to take over when you're gone. We were taught to trust two things in this line of work; our instincts and our team. Guys, my instincts told me this was the right call. And my team just happened to be the ones who made it. Do you really think I would have let them face Thanos without believing they could do it? Or without sending backup?” 

A smirk settles on Sabrina's face as the others look around noticing that Nebula and Rocket were absent. “You sent the aliens after them,” Natasha states flatly, turning to look at Clint from the corner of her eye before landing on a slightly calmer Tony. “That was smart.”

“Thanks.” The twins said at the same time, each with the same proud smile on their face.

Tony takes a deep breath, “Okay, even I can admit that the fact that the eight of you could trick the Avengers, some X-Men, _and_ a group of highly trained soldiers and spies is impressive. Seriously, how did you-” There were a few yelps as the large plane jerks harshly to the right causing everybody to tumble towards the side of the plane. Everyone was quick to brace themselves against something, most having been trained what to do when something like this happens, the others just using pure instinct.

Looking out the plane window, Steve saw a green portal split open in the sky, a purple one opening a distance way as they swerve past a blue one. _What the hell?_ “How much longer until we reach our destination?”

“As long as it takes me to land, Captain,” May responds quickly, preparing to land the plane.

#

“What do we do?” Jack repeats, turning to look at Thanos’ dead body. It had barely been ten minutes and each and every one of them began quickly seeming to unravel in their own ways. Jack was panicking. Mason was pissed. Wanda was numb. Ryder was confused, Jordan was worn to the point of exhaustion and Kirstin… Kirstin was planning. She was in deep thought, circling the group in an act to keep herself from collapsing into her grief.

“What if we bring everyone back ourselves?” Kirstin offers finally, stopping mid-step. The others send her incredulous looks, an act that draws a scoff from the girl. “Seriously, guys. Get off your asses and _do_ something! The threat of Thanos was eliminated, but the Stones are gone and our people are still dead! Our family is still dead!” She directs towards Wanda and Jack ignoring their slight flinches. They sit in silence for a moment, Kirstin throwing a chunk of ground across the field in a burst of anger, spinning around as she rips it out and taking a few steps away from the others, crouching down as the tell-tale purple mist continues to dance around her fingers, a clear tell of her anger.

“She's right.” Wanda agrees softly after a long moment of tense silence. “Now is not the time to sit on our hands. But Kirstin, people are dead because one man decided to play God. How do we know undoing this won't be an attempt at the same act?”

Kirstin pauses, her hand running across the ground as she traces a pattern over the dirt. _Did an attempt at undoing Thanos’ crimes make them just as bad as him? Did it mean they were playing God?_ She hears a voice she'd never thought would comfort her whisper in the back of her head, a tugging memory that seemed to be important. _You have the power of the universe in your grasp, Kirstin. Using it to save lives is not playing God_ . “That cryptic, future seeing, bastard!” The girl mutters rudely, no heat behind her words. “I know. We are saving lives, Guys. Not one life, are two. Millions. Not just on Earth, but across the _galaxy_ . Thanos destroyed them in an attempt to bring balance. But balance can only be obtained by the checks and balances in the world around us, something Thanos broke when he snapped his fingers. It's our job to _fix_ that. We have to try.” Kirstin holds out her hand to the others, eyes full with silent plea. 

Mason looks between the other five before shrugging and walking over to her. “You've got me.”

“навсегда.” **(Forever?)** She begins, holding out her hand for him to take.

“навсегда. Let's do this, Kirsty” **(Forever.)** Ryder smiles at the scene, holding a hand out for his sister. Together they both walk over to their friends, Ryder extending his hand to Kirstin.

Wanda and Jack finish off the circle, Jack’s hand easily sliding into his boyfriend's hand. Kirstin ignores the opening of the colorful portals and closing around them Kirstin meets Mason's eyes, letting out a shaky breath as they all begin using their abilities. The air around them is charged with an electricity Kirstin couldn't explain. It was what she felt like when the snap had gone off. Now though, the electricity wasn't just inside her, it was around her, spreading through the air and the others, calling for the other stone bearers, the parts to make the whole.

Each set of eyes flutter closed at the same time, each breath taken was at the same time as the others. They seemed as though they became one person, using these abilities for a common purpose. They heard the plane flying above them, heard the helicopters too, but it didn't matter. It was too late to stop them. The damage was done.

The connected feeling seems to snap in two as they force the power out, a multicolored blast nearly knocking them off their feet. None of them let go, the sheer force of will pushing the blast outward watching as the colors of their abilities seem to blend into an atmosphere of color. Finally, by pure force of will, the shield-like force around them seems to pop, the blast ten times stronger than before. All six of them are sent flying backward, being forced apart by the violent blast.

#

Logan was one of the first out of the plane, easily jumping out without a parachute, landing with a thud and a silent groan of pain, his injuries already righting themselves. The different colored portals that they had been seeing throughout the flight over seemed to be congregating here, the portals opening and closing at random times. He wasn't sure what the different colors meant and, if he was being honest, he wasn't quite sure he wants to find out.

Being the first out of the plane, also meant he was the first one in the blast zone of whatever voodoo shit the runaway kids were creating. _God,_ He thinks to himself, _Erik is going to rip every bone from my body if those girls end up dead, isn't he?_ Moving towards the shield of colors, he reaches out to touch it, only for a burst of energy to surge from the people in the middle, causing it to send out a harsh blast out in every direction.

Logan stays standing through sheer force of will, taking off running toward Kirstin as she begins flying back towards one of the portals, hand still intertwined with Ryder's. Racing towards then, he connects with her body, barely having enough time to spin so his- very strong, very _metal_ \- bones would take the brunt of the impact before they disappear through the portal, his grip loosening too much for his liking before everything goes black.

#

When the plane finally lands, the damage had already been done. Kirstin, Ryder, and Logan were nowhere to be seen, and the other five young adults were laying in various states of consciousness. Mason, who had caught his fall using his own slight telekinetic abilities, was messing with his phone, trying to call someone it seemed, spinning around as if looking for someone. Wanda was blinking hazily, glancing around with her hand on her head. She had also stopped herself from connecting with the ground, but the blast had made her light-headed, so she ended up toppling over as soon as she was on her feet again.

Jack was looking over an unconscious Jordan, Mason giving them instructions as he spoke on the phone. She had hit her head pretty hard, but they were hoping it was something her healing factor could fix. Assuming she didn't drain herself during the time loop.

“Mom! Oh, thank god.” Mason blurts, faith that the idea Kirstin had actually worked instantly restored when the dusted woman answered her cellphone. “Yeah. Yes, I know. The place is a mess. Ye-Yeah, that's blood on the couch. I will explain everything later, or just- you could just watch the news. That would probably explain the less personal side of things. Bye.” He hung up on her mid-sentence, quickly dialing another number and smiling when a disgruntled Avery answers.

“ _What?”_

“Do me a favor? I had Will send you something. Take it and meet us here.”

“ _Mason I don't know where here i-_ ” He hangs up the phone, shoving it into his suit pocket and zipping it closed as Tony walks toward him, one of his many Iron Man suits closing smoothly around him. Steve and Erik walk swiftly behind him, Natasha and Clint bringing up the rear. 

“What happened?” The Captain demands, speaking before Tony could even open his mouth. 

“Thanos destroyed the Stones, Nebula killed him and Rocket is… talking to someone on their ship. The six of us-” He gestures to the small huddle that seemed to take place in front of the heroes’ eyes. Mason had an arm tucked around Jordan's waist, her arm thrown over his shoulder to keep her balanced and close to him so there was no risk of her half-awake self collapsing. Jack was helping Wanda to her feet, both staying close to the others. Jack keeps a hold off her hand when she makes no attempt to let go, keeping a death grip on him as she reaches out for familiar minds. _Dad? Are you there?_ She reaches out farther toward another familiar mind. _Speedy?_

“There's only four of you.” Erik points out flatly, eyes skimming over the group.

“-were trying to reverse what he did, so far, we think we've succeeded. And I don't-” Mason continues, talking over Erik easily.

Tony takes a step forward, purposely getting into the kids’ personal space. He tilts his head so it was right almost against his ear, his face tilted away. “Listen, kid, you better have some serious evidence to back up those claims, for your sake. Magneto over there is itching to take his anger out on someone and if there's even a spec of fault in your reasoning, you're probably going to end up with every piece of iron in your system drawn out in the most painful way possible.” Taking a step back after his quick, oddly empathetic warning, he pats the kid on the arm once. “Keep it short and sweet kid.” A blue Iron Man suit lands a few feet away, as if by some sort of movie cue.

“I don't know about sweet but she's pretty short.” There was a feminine scoff heard as the suit begins to retract. In a blink there was a man standing next to her, looking rather out of breath. Pietro. “Okay. That one was not me. I called Avery, Pietro just has good timing.”

“And Kirstin?” Tony adds, looking around the group. “Did she zip off to make sure everything is in order? Go back to collect Peter and friends? How about Ryder?” Mason opens his mouth and closes it, looking like a fish for a few moments. Tony looks at him expectantly, fear slowly creeping into the expression.

“The blast sent us flying back. When we came too Kirstin, Ryder, and Logan were gone. So was one of the portals. She's the first person I tried calling but it went straight to voicemail twice. Her mind is completely blank on my end.” Mason spits out looking towards the others. 

“What does that mean?” Erik spits out, looking between the two brunettes.

“If she- if _they_ went through one of those portals…”

“We have no clue where-”

“Or when,” Jordan adds weakly, slightly unfocused eyes glancing over at Mason.

“-she is.” Tony glances back at Steve before his eyes flicker over to the equally concerned twins. _Shit._

#

His green eyes snap open, quickly adjusting to the odd mix of darkness and light around him. Sitting up from the endless darkness below him, and the endless darkness above, he glances around carefully examining this place. 

The platinum blonde climbs to his feet, eyes landing on the dark-haired woman asleep next to him. He nearly jumps back in fright at the sight of Lilith sleeping peacefully in the shrouded darkness. _What in the Angel's name?_ “So it's true.” Green eyes widen as he spins around to face a black-eyed copy of himself. “We were split.” 

“G-get away from me.” The green-eyed man had softer features than his demonic clone, even as they have the same exact features. His eyes, along with the features they shared, made him look angelic, while the black pupils replacing them seemed to create the opposite effect.

“No thank you. I think I like where I'm at. Now, get out of my way, or I'll put you back under.” The green-eyed man gulps but stands his ground. A devilish smirk takes over his look alike's face. “Fine. I guess we will have to do it your way.”


	2. 1

_Unknown Time…_

Kirstin lets out a groan, eyes fluttering open to find a bright light staring down at her. _And a god-awful smell._ “Someone turn off the sun.” She mutters to herself, rubbing her hand over her face. Propping herself up on her elbows, she glances around for a moment, confused as to her surroundings. The space below her was both tough and squishy at the same time. _Oh…_ she was in a dumpster, a familiar figure stumbling into the alley. _Logan._ Pulling herself to stand, she jumps over the metal edge of the green dumpster, attempting to clean the gross feeling off of herself with just her hands.

“Kirstin,” Logan states simply, everything seeming to get quiet around her as she meets his eyes. “You good?”

“I'm fine.” His eyes flick over her despite the question being answered, as if he doesn't trust her to tell the truth. After a long moment, he nodded to himself, as if he needed to confirm it yet again.

“Good. We need to find out where we are and we need to get home. I have a daughter to look after.” Kirstin snorts to herself, pulling a piece of trash out of her tangled hair, purposely _not_ breathing through her nose. The last thing she needed was to throw up, making the stench worse.

“Poor Laura. She's probably stuck with Wade. We should be back in a few hours, we're not too far. I can teleport you there if I need to. Shouldn't be too…” She trails off, glancing around them, a rush of energy causing her to shiver. Logan glances back at her for a long moment, pulling off his jacket and putting it around her shoulder, muttering about not needing to draw attention to them and that she should cover-up. Too tired to call him on his bullshit, she pulls it closer around her, moving to catch up with the man.

“No teleporting. I hate when you do it and I damn well ain't doin’ it with ya.” Kirstin resists the urge to roll her eyes, having to jog to keep up with him. She knew he hated teleporting but it was better than walking through the state of New York until they reached his apartment- Kirstin had only established they were in New York due to Logan's mind and how long he wandered to track her down- which was probably a half an hour walk. Eventually, she grew tired of the near-jog she had to do to keep up with the taller man. Her leg hurt, was probably broken when she ended up in the dumpster. Or going through the portal.

“Okay, I know you're in a hurry to get back to Laura and Wade but can you at least walk at a slightly slower speed? We can't all be 6’ 2”.” She complains, stumbling forward, wincing as she steps with her bad leg. Logan hears the wince, turning to face her.

“I thought you were fine?”

“I am fine, just short.” She rebuked, standing her ground. “Can't you just walk like a short person?”

“Your leg is busted, isn't it?”

“Its almost done healing.” Kirstin concedes, tired. “Honestly, I just want to get home. So just… yell at me later.”

“Why would I wait until later when we have a half-hour walk left?” He asks, the question clearly rhetorical. Instead of waiting for him to start, she grabs his shoulder, teleporting them to his apartment building. Logan leans over, puking on the ground next to them, right in front of the entrance.

“Gross,” Kirstin mutters to herself, trapped between the wall and a puking Logan.

He wipes his mouth in disgust, glaring at the girl. “I think that's the first time I have ever thrown up.”

“That you can remember, you mean.” She corrects absently, stepping over the puke puddle. The door flies open without a thought, Logan stepping in first, Kirstin trailing close behind. Everything seemed different than normal. Cleaner, nice looking. Maybe she was tired because she _knows_ her friends’ apartment building looks like absolute shit. “Lo?”

“What?” He questions, still walking ahead of her, nearly reaching the door to his apartment. 

“It looks weird here, doesn't it?” The inquiry causes the man to pause, examining the space around him. 

“That is… weird.” He shakes his head, opening the door only to find a gun to his head, and a woman grabbing what looks like a blade from the drawer. The gun was being held by a hand that was, in fact, attached to Wade. The woman, on the other hand, definitely wasn't Laura. Scanning her mind, she quickly deduces her name was Vanessa, but that wasn't the weirdest part.

No, the weirdest part was that Wade… didn't _look_ like Wade. He had a brown head of hair, clear skin, and eyebrows. _Huh,_ Kirstin thinks to herself, _usually seeing people without eyebrows is weird. It’s odd that it's the other way around this time._ She grabs Logan's shoulder again, teleporting away and wiping not-Wade's memory of ever seeing them, along with Vanessa's.

#

Ryder's eyes snap open to a face leaning over him. Wise blue eyes meet his and a smile breaks out over the woman's face. “He's awake. Scott, help me sit him up!”

“Uh, I think I'm capable of sitting up on my own, of you don't mind.” The girl quickly climbs away from the… _bed_ ? Last he remembers he was standing in a circle with his friends, attempting to bring everyone back. He does as he stated, sitting up and looking around him. _This is the X-Mansion._ He realizes after a moment. _But they moved to the school months ago._

“I should go get you something to eat, you're probably hungry. Who knows how long you were passed out on the grounds.” She declares firmly, moving to walk out of the room. Stepping around the man with sunglasses, she makes it to the door before Ryder stops her.

“Uh… who are you?”

“Oh,” The girl seems taken aback for a moment, stopping in the doorway. “I'm Jean. This is Scott. I'll be right back.” The redhead randomly sighs, “Yes, Scott. I'll tell Hank he's awake, as promised.” 

“Good.” The man mutters to himself.

Ryder, who had frozen in his spot as soon as he heard the names, had to repress the urge to jump out of the bed, certain that Scott would blast him before he could do so much as take a step. He could see the similarities between (what he is assuming is) younger Scott and Jean and the Scott and Jean he had met a few times. “Scott…” he starts, pointing at the other man. “and Jean?” He points toward the door.

“Yeah, that's what she said.” Scott deadpans, voice holding an obvious tinge of annoyance.

“What year is it?”

“1995.” He spits. Ryder lets himself drop against the bed again, hands coming to cover his face as he lets out an irritated noise.

“I swear, you _have_ to be a druggie. There is no other way to explain this.”

#

Mason jumps out of the Quinjet easily, letting Avery's suit catch his weight as he forces one of the portals closed, kicking a Chitauri away from a blue portal and watching as a rush of energy from Jack strikes it out of the air. “These bastards are really opportunistic, aren't they?” He draws back his bow, firing an arrow at another one as he moves.

“I would be too if I was stuck in deep space forever. It's like the Battle of New York all over again.” Avery complains through the comms as Mason jumps off her back, rolling to his feet on top of a building.

“Except for more holes and fewer aliens. And we're not in New York.” Tony adds, tossing a robot from a past Doom fight back through the portal it flew out of.

“Maybe not refer to the portals as holes, Tony,” Jordan complains, closing the green portal Tony had tossed the Doombot into. “Because it sounds kinda weird. God, I need to do more cardio.” She stops for a second, taking a few gasps of breath. Wanda runs past her, using her telekinesis to shove Tony out of the way of an opening portal. This one was purple, one of the only ones they have no control over besides the blue ones. Not to say they had any true control over the other ones.

For the past week, these portals have been opening and closing everywhere, the multitude of colors making it obvious where they came from. The destructions of the Stones did this and- according to Loki, Dr. Strange, and even Heimdall- it was going to continue happening until the stones were brought back. Only, no one could do it. Jordan probably could, if she had more time to learn to control the time manipulation abilities she had been granted with- true irony, the strawberry blonde would claim, bitterly- but they didn't have the time she needed. The portals were opening more often and now things were _coming through them._ Doombot, World War Two era Hydra agents, a few cars, some people Wanda had to mentally manipulate, anything from the past and/or future or space. The dead weren't stating dead anymore, and people who had died in the past were being released from wherever the hell they were sent to after death. People from different realities would come through the portals and be sent back to their reality, thoroughly mindwiped. 

The Mind Stone portals were a personal kind of hell. The people that tried to walk through them, or even touch them, are sucked into a hell of their own making. The weaker minds are made to see their worst nightmares come to life inside their own heads, while the stronger minds are manipulated into bouts of pure insanity, many trying to kill others or themselves.

All in all, the week that had past since Kirstin, Ryder, and Logan vanished has been truly awful and Mason was glad when all of the portals stopped popping up for a while. He sprawls out on the dirty ground of whatever city they were in- it had been evacuated when the portals became more frequent in the area, sending through dangerous creatures and weapons- letting his body take the momentary rest it desperately needed. “I think we're done.”

“For now,” Wanda added harshly, coming to sit next to him. “They never stay gone for long.”

“What do you expect, Ms. Xavier, after the universe was broken?” Loki questions, plopping down onto the curb in an oddly graceful move.

“An explosion.” Mason snaps sarcastically, Jack collapsing next to him so their heads were lined up with each other. “Maybe zombies.”

“Instantaneous death.” Jordan guesses, keeping her eyes closed to block out the too-bright sun and the too-dark sky. Everything seemed a little off since the Stones were destroyed, but the sky was what bothered her the most. The blue was more of a dark navy like the sun had set but there was still some light in the sky, while the sun was almost a red color, so bright it was uncomfortable.

“My father to be the cause of it,” Jack adds flatly, earning a laugh from Mason and a kiss on the cheek from his clearly tired boyfriend.

“ _My_ father to be the cause of it.” Wanda jokes softly. “He is not always the brightest when angered.” 

“Agreed.” Jordan smiles awkwardly as she sprawls out on the hot ground, letting her headrest in the older woman's lap. “But we have another problem.” The group lets out simultaneously groans. “One of the portals closed on its own again, stranding some people here.”

“Please be alternate reality people,” Wanda begs softly to herself.

“Please let it be someone from the future.” Jack mimics with amusement in his voice.

“Please let it be a zombie here to eat our brains and put us out of our misery.” Mason cries out, letting his hands reach up towards the heavens.

“No, close, and I wish. Peggy Carter and Howard Stark are currently being loaded onto a Quinjet and being sent to the Avengers Compound as we speak.” Mason shoots up from his lying position, ignoring the lightheaded feeling the fast motion gave him.

“THE Peggy Carter? As in the woman who kicked ass and took names before it was normal for women to do so?” Jordan lets out a dreamy sigh.

“She’s my icon. I can't wait to meet her. Steve, on the other hand, is kind of terrified. Can't say I blame him, though.” Jordan curls into the fetal position, waiting for the others to find their little gathering spot.

“I am not terrified, Jordan. Just… worried.” Jack glances up at the muscular blonde.

“About Ms. Carter, or about Mr. Stark?” Steve opens and closes his mouth like a fish for a few moments.

“Both.” He says finally, sitting next to Mason, clearly tired. “Anything on Kirstin and Ryder, Jordan?”

“Nothing. Strange is working with me as much as possible. I've gotten down turning the time back with a person, animal, or, hell, even a half-eaten fruit, but I can't get a damn portal bigger than my hand to open.” She pauses for a second, watching five flying figures easily landing on the ground nearby, none of them coming to a complete stop as they walk toward the pile of sweaty heroes. “I'm working on it though. I've been able to see through them, too. I know what time I'm opening it to. We just need to find out when they are. Then we can definitely work with that.”

“So,” Tony decides to change the subject from his missing niece, something he's done a lot of in the small-time since it happened. He didn't want to think about the possibility she might just be… gone. “Anyone decided on their names yet?”

“I like Invisigirl,” Maya says, appearing next to Ryder easily. Sabrina snorts as she comes to sit next to Wanda.

“That's totally ripping off the Incredibles _and_ the Invisible Woman.” Her twin sister exclaims.

“Cheshire Cat, then.” Mason hisses at her, making a buzzer sound. “Ghost and Invisible Woman are already taken. How about…” She shrugs, “Phantom?”

“I like it.” Steve offers, shrugging slightly, an echo of agreements ringing through the group.

“I wanna be called Copycat,” Sabrina exclaims, a bright smile on her face.

“Huntress, definitely,” Jordan confirms, looking around the group. “And we're calling Ryder Inferno. He always wanted to be called that.” She offers, watching the burning star in the sky drastically contrast the dusky sky around them.

“That sounds kinda epic.” Tony concedes, shrugging to himself.

“It does.” Avery confirms softly, “It also sounds like something off a disco track. ‘Burn baby, burn'”

“‘Disco inferno!’” Mason and Jack call out, Jack doing jazz hands. They were waiting for a few more people, and the quinjet, to return before they could leave the smoldering heat and get back to a cold room. Loki and Jordan were definitely the most affected by the heat; Jordan had passed out from heat exhaustion during her training two days previously, despite her healing factor, and Loki couldn't be outside very long before he starts to feel faint.

“Anarchy,” Jack says suddenly, letting his hands drop to the ground. 

“Guardian. Just because. Fuck Guardians of the Galaxy, this is my name now.” Mason earned himself a round of laughter through the group as a few motorcycles are heard driving up from different directions. Next to Natasha, a car randomly grows out of nowhere.

Bucky was the first one off the bikes, Clint and Natasha following as Pietro appeared with a deli sandwich. “I gave them a head start.” Is all the Sokovian had to say before plopping down next to his sister. Jordan made grabby hands toward the sandwich, so he let her have a bite. 

“Turkey. Yummy.” She says tiredly, rolling to her other side as she chews. Wanda glances down at the quickly tiring girl.

“We need to get back soon.” In an instant, Mason was up off the ground, coming to check on his ex-boyfriend's’ sister. It was the least he could do.

“This heat is getting worst. Soon Jordan won't be able to leave the Compound, guys.” He declares, examining her quickly.

“We need to fix this soon.” Loki corrects, “or _none_ of us will be able to do anything.”

“Unless you have a way to travel through time and/or undo everything done to the Universe, we have no way to fix this, Frosty.”

“What if I turn back the time on the sun?” Jordan questions faintly. “It should buy us more time, right?”

Loki purses his lips in thought, “It would, but not much. Something else will come and cause problems. It will be a never-ending loop as the Universe searches for stability it won't find.”

“Do it,” Mason says softly, hoping that this will help her instead of harming her. 

  
  



	3. 2

Logan lets out an irritated growl, wiping his mouth and standing straight from his previous hunched position. Kirstin smiles sheepishly at him, leaning against the wall at the mouth of the alley, holding a newspaper. “July 25, 1995.” She says throwing it to him. Logan catches it deftly, scanning over it with dead eyes.

“Shit.” 

Kirstin laughs awkwardly, kicking the opposite wall of the alley. She had pulled Logan’s hood up to hide her hair, keeping her eyes pointed toward the ground so as not to draw attention to them. When she found the newspaper stand, she grabbed one, disappearing from their minds with practiced ease. Now though, she didn’t bother with the illusion. Sure, people sent the previously puking Logan some dirty looks but other than that, no one seemed to care. “I just want to know how we got from bum-fuck nowhere to New York. I thought maybe the portal teleported us there but if it sent us to the past, why send us to New York?”

“Does it matter?” Logan rebukes, earning a blank look from the girl, “We are in 1995 with no clue how to get home and no way around.” A sigh leaves him, his anger diffusing with practiced ease. He walks past her earning an annoyed grumble from the younger woman, hoping she won’t have to jog to keep up again.

“Where are we going?” She grumbles, noticeably upset.  _ Just when things are going good, everything goes to shit. Then, after everything goes to shit, the world proceeds to completely implode.  _ Kirstin hated that this logic was almost always right. When things are starting to go well in her life, someone comes along and fucks it up. 

“A thrift store. You need some clothes that don’t look like you stepped out of a comic book.” She rolls her eyes, jogging to catch up to the fast-walking man.

#

Jack easily blocks a hit from Jordan swiping at her legs in a quick move. They were training with bow staffs again, earning some frustration from the overheated and overworked girl. “I know you want to find Kirstin, I do too,” Jack pants out, smacking her in the back of her knee and pulling her leg out from under her, something that wouldn't have happened if Jordan was actually paying attention. She falls with a yelp, throwing her staff away from her as she pants way too hard for the light work out they were doing, “but I think you need a break.”   
  
“The sun is already fucked up again,” Jordan pants out, staggering to her feet, “Kirstin, Ryder, and Logan have been gone for a week, and we have two people from the sixties living in the Compound, not to mention the Asgardians. You need to be trained, along with Andi and Lauren.” She grabs a towel from the rack it was hanging over, wiping the sweat off her face. “I don't have time for a break. Or the energy. If I stop going, I think I might collapse and not get back up.”   
  
Jack nods, understanding her point of view. “Do you remember those cryofreeze chambers they had Bucky in when he was with Hydra?” The strawberry blonde nods, blindsided by the sudden change in subject. “Tony pointed out that maybe sticking you guys- as in Iceman, Loki, and you- into them when you sleep. You won't go into the same type of sleep Bucky or Steve would, you're bodies are resistant to extreme cold, but it would help to keep you from overheating during the day.”   
  
“Honestly, I'm down for anything at this point. I'm dizzy, I'm nauseous, and every time I try to make a time portal, I get a major headache. Tell Tony I'll try it next time you see him.” She stays silent for a moment, watching her brother continue going through the movements of offensive attacks with his staff. “And you? How are you holding up?”   
  
“The heat is not affecting me that much. My newer powers are pretty easy to master, though I'm kind of curious as to the extent of my powers.” He laughs at the irritated look on the girl's face. “What?”   
  
“That wasn't what I meant and you know it, Jack.” Ryder feigns confusion, setting the weapons on their proper racks, “How are you holding up with everything that happened with Kirstin?"   
  
The blonde looks down at the ground, sadness clear in his blue eyes. “As good as I can be?"   
  
"That's to be expected. She's your cousin, you miss her. I know I miss my brother." She sighs to herself, tugging Jack to sit next to her and resting her head on his shoulder. "We're going to get them back. We are." Jack nods solemnly, an unreadable expression on his face.    
  
"Sure." While the girl prided herself in understanding emotions, facial expressions or any form of body language baffled her. Her brother and Kirstin were better at it than her. However, she could feel the sadness rolling off the boy as if he's constantly in a state that requires him to hold back sobs.    
  
"Jack-" Jordan really hated when she got interrupted. It was annoying and rude, and quite frankly caused more confusion than necessary. Still, the door opened just the same, with some of the few other Shadowhunters that were staying in the New York Institute wandering in.   
  
“Magnus Bane is requesting to speak with you.” The shorter of the two states, his voice surprisingly soft compared to most Shadowhunter men.   
  
“Which ‘you’ do you speak of?” Jack asks, earning two odd looks.   
  
“Pardon?” The other man states, dark eyebrows furrowed in his confusion.   
  
“Which one of us?” Jordan translates easily. It was odd, sometimes, how Jack would speak in such a way that very few understand, yet the people who know him can translate the talk as easy as breathing.   
  
“Both. He said something about a girl named Kirstin and the Blackthorns then asked us to collect his niece and nephew for him.” The two Nephilim eyes met, the blue and gold colors clashing in the silent conversation taking place between them.    
  
“Awesome.” Jack spits out, quickly helping his friend out of the room, who calls back to the duo as they exit the room, the heavy door closing behind them.   
  
“Thanks.”

#

Something is thrown at the girl, hitting her sleeping form with a thump. She crinkles her nose up in annoyance, flipping Logan the bird when he begins laughing at her. “Get up or I’m throwing the food at you too.” Rolling over on the dirty bed, she sits up and lets the food come to her hands. “Eat up. We’re heading out tonight.”

“Where?” Kirstin mumbles out through a mouthful of burger. They had been crashing in a hotel free of charge. Mostly because she used telepathy on the receptionist. 

“The X-Mansion.” He elaborates, grabbing his burger. “I've been to the past before, they helped. Maybe they can help.”

“Were you stranded?” She questions, pulling a hair tie off her wrist, a permanent feature for her since she grew her hair out. Kirstin pulls the hair, that usually falls to her mid-back, into tight braids plastered to the top of her head, pulling an old Captain America beanie, her hair completely hidden by it. This was because she didn’t have the energy for hair dye, nor the money really. Logan had some cash on him, and Kirstin had the means to preserve that money. As long as nobody notices. 

“No.” Finishing their food, they pack up, walking through the parking lot to find a ride, noticing an empty rental car. Kirstin nods to it, tapping Logan’s arm. He glances around, shrugging as they head towards it. Logan stands by the passenger door, watching closely as Kirstin briskly unlocks the car, any alarms being disarmed, along with unhooking the GPS attached to the car. That was the hard part, Kirstin knew. The easy part came next, then the harder part; driving. Not something she was used to, she could admit.

Kirstin presses her hand against the keyhole, smirking as the car sparks to life. A nervous giggle leaves her mouth as she pulls onto the road, zooming down the road despite Logan's protests. “What's the matter, Lo? Don't like the speed?”

“Better than Slim with the Black Bird. I swear he's purposely trying to make me throw up.” Kirstin laughs again rolling down her window to let the air in, rolling Logan's down with her abilities. Pure delight surges through the air around them, easily traced back to her, her telepathy setting the small area alight in the emotion.

“He is!” Logan raises an eyebrow toward her, actually smiling as she lets out another delighted laugh. It was hard to correlate Kirstin’s personality sometimes, he knows. What, with her ability to inhabit whatever role she wants to play with such… mastery, he would have thought she was Raven’s kid had he not known better. “It was a bet. See if he could get you to throw up before my birthday. He owes me twenty dollars.”

“You just love making bets you know your gonna win, don’t ya?” He suppresses the wider smile that wants to make its way onto his face. Not that it mattered, amusement was radiating off of him just as much as Kirstin’s faulty delight was. 

“Yes, I think that’s kind of the idea.” She begins to slow down, knowing the hidden driveway was coming up. “It’s great. No actual gambling involved. Speaking of gambling, Remy wants you to contact him. Y’know, when we are back in our own time.” Logan nods, staring out through the front windshield.

#

Erik feels the large presence of metal coming close to the house, drawing his attention away from his year-old children. “Charles? Were you expecting company?”

A slight shake of his head was all that it took for Erik to hand Pietro off to a slightly worried Lorna, Charles doing the same to Jean as he tentatively let his telepathy reach for the driver. “I can’t read the driver’s mind but the passenger… ah,” His concern breaks into an odd smile, turning to look at Erik, “I believe Logan has finally come to see us yet again.”

“You realize what that must mean, Charles.” Erik declares as they both move to meet him at the door. “We failed in our mission, all those years ago. Mutants are-”

“Perfectly fine. In fact, better than fine.” A smile dances over Charles’ lips as he moves alongside Erik, the wheelchair going at a slightly slower pace than the taller man. “They’re flourishing, growing into beautiful  _ citizens _ . There is no more hiding in our future, old friend. Only the fight to get there stands in our way.” Erik smirks to himself at the word  _ fight _ , planning to make a snide comment as they reach the door. “Don’t. You know what I meant. Besides, he could be here to collect Ryder, the young man from the future. I'm sure the blonde will be eager to see him.”

Erik opens the door, interrupting Logan mid-sentence, and a young girl mid-knock. Actually, Logan was telling her there was no point in knocking. “Guess you have a point there, Wolverine.”

Kirstin looks back at Logan, an odd look on her face before she turns back to them. “Hi.”

“Real eloquent, Kid,” Logan mutters under his breath.


	4. 3

Mason stares out the window of his mother’s kitchen watching the busy city continue on, even as the portals continue to plague them. Rose, who stood half in the doorway, half out, watches her son quietly, his father lingering behind her. “God.” The Dimitri mutters quietly to the cop, who turns her head to look a the taller man before her eyes are pulled back to her son. “I can only imagine how he must feel.”

“Probably horrible. Losing someone like that, a Spirit partner… it's like having part of yourself ripped away. It’s an extremely codependent thing and losing a relationship like that, especially the way that he did… Kir- she saved a lot of people, even if it meant risking herself.” Mason slams the mug he was holding onto the counter spinning to face them.

“She isn’t  _ dead.” _ He spits out venomously, a surprising event for his father, not so much for his mother. This wasn’t the first time Kirstin disappeared and drove him up the wall. It is, however, the first time he took that anger out on her. He usually worked the anger out in better ways than lashing out, but Rose could definitely understand why this is different. It hurts more like this. “And for  _ fuck's sake _ , say her  _ name _ . She’s not Voldemort, Mom. Kirstin, Kirstin, Kirstin. Her name isn’t going to suddenly cause me to shatter. I’m not made of glass.” His voice raises to a yell at the last word, the coffee mug flying off the counter and shattering.  _ Telekinesis, _ He thinks darkly,  _ great. _

Spirit had a lot of minor abilities, many he could reach with ease. Healing and compulsion are the things he could reach with ease. Illusions and mind-reading are something he could never grasp, which had originally what drew him to Kirstin in the first place; she could do it with ease. They learned that, unless he wanted to drive himself completely insane, he couldn’t reach these abilities. He was slowly working up to other feats, such as aura sensory and dream walking but he was barely performing at a beginner’s level and telekinesis was still something he couldn’t grasp. At least, until now.

Ever since his first encounter with the Soul Stone he felt… different. Less hankered down, more in control. Like the Darkness he had collected was just… gone. He wasn’t sure if Kirstin took it… or the stone did. And had no way to tell now that they were both gone. So now, whenever he got angry, things would fly across the room and shatter or shake dangerously. 

He could almost hear Kirstin’s voice in his head. _Don’t take it out on her,_ she would say, hypocritically, _she loves you and she’s just trying to look after you._ Then again, Kirstin probably would probably have given him full permission to take it out on Dimitri. _He wasn’t there._ He thinks darkly. _Why should I care about his feelings?_ _No._ He realizes. Kirstin would give the man a fair shot, see that he’s trying, and acknowledge that as she still keeps him at a distance.

“Mason.” The single word leaving his mother’s mouth in such a… maternal way. It wasn’t angry or reprimanding, nor was it soft and gentle. It was one thing he seemed to search for, a way of comfort he found in Kirstin, searched for because of the way comfort was presented to him as he grew up. His mother wasn’t cold and distant when he was upset but she also wasn’t one to wrap you in bubble wrap and wool blankets. She fell perfectly in the middle, able to soothe him with words alone when he rapidly became too big to curl up in her lap. (He hated how similar to his father he was. Big, tall, and- unlike his father- lanky. Also, awkward in the fact that he was so tall. It was why he related to Riley so well, besides the generally similar features.) The tone of voice is what broke him.

“I know she isn’t dead. I may not be able to reach her, but I still feel that buzz in the back of my mind. She’s there, just out of reach. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s lying in a ditch with the Black Plague or killed by the slew of things that happened in the past. Or what if she’s in the future?” He runs both hands through his hair, clenching his hands into fists while still in his hair, a harsh tugging sensation on his scalp accompanying the action. “I  _ hate _ not knowing.”

“So talk to Jordan, see how you can help.” Dimitri offers, surprising Rose. She didn’t even think he remembered his friends' names, let alone which one has what powers.

Mason shakes his head, hands leaving his hair, “I can’t. She’s in cryofreeze most of the time, the heat is killing her. She can withstand it for maybe twenty minutes at a time. That’s long enough for her to work with Dr. Strange on techniques he picked up with the Time Stone then visit with Andi for maybe five minutes then go back under.”

Rose looks at the ground, tapping her finger on the edge of her own cup, staring at the broken mug. “Then work on your abilities with Erik and Charles. I’m sure they’d be happy to help, especially considering you are their only way to know if their daughter is alive at the time being. Get control over your new abilities so you don’t use them without reason. That,” She stops him as his smirk begins to form, holding her hand up and pointing sternly at him, “Doesn’t mean any tricks or little fighting skills. Just control.” Mason sighs to himself, wondering if going  _ near  _ Erik would be a good idea.  _ One way to find out. _

#

“Pull the trigger,” Kirstin demands, staring at the blonde, ignoring the barrel of the gun pointed at her.

“No.” Ryder rebukes, but he doesn't drop the gun.

“Pull the trigger.”

“No.”

“Don't be a pussy.” She fires at him. “I can stop the bullet.”

“If you know you can stop it, why have me shoot you in the first place? Seems pointless to me.”

“Because I don't want to practice my telekinesis, I want to practice with my Reality Warping abilities,” Kirstin explains, pulling her braid over her shoulders.

Charles watches from a window as the two bickers. “I believe I am having a case of deja vu.” Charles declares, glancing back toward Erik, who was watching the twins sleep on the couch in the study, having fallen asleep while Charles read to them. Moving toward the window, Erik looks through it, watching Kirstin taunt Ryder, who holds a gun out toward her. 

“Seems so,” He mutters, watching the girl closely. Something had seemed  _ off _ about her, beyond being from the future. “Does she seem familiar to you?”

Charles stares for a bit longer, “A bit. It is like we are supposed to know her.”

“Maybe we are. She said we were her mentors and we've discussed the idea of fixed points in the timeline, maybe us meeting her is one of them, no matter when.” Charles simply continues to watch, the couple falling into a comfortable silence. After a moment, the professor sighs, “We should probably stop them before someone gets hurt.”

Erik doesn't respond instead extending his hand. The gun fires loudly, loud feminine laughter quickly following.

Kirstin was mid-sentence, mocking Ryder about not firing when the bullet releases from its chamber. The bullet stops as her hand flies up, the purple mist appearing around her appendage. “Thought you weren't gonna shoot?”

Ryder looks down at the gun in confusion, missing the bullet turning into purple dust with relative ease. She hadn't been able to do something like that since Fenris dropped a building on her. “I wasn't.” Kirstin licks her lips turning to face the window above, where she could feel the cold, steely mind. She gives Erik a big thumbs up, and a rather flat smile.

Charles shoots a glare at Erik, who smirks down at him. “He clearly wasn't going to do it. Besides, now we know that she really can manipulate reality. It opens up many possibilities as to getting them home.”

Charles doesn't respond, though his disdain is presented plainly as day in his telepathic connection to his fiance. Or, he sends disdain Erik's way, even while he knows Erik wouldn't have let the bullet hit home. 

#

The green-eyed man stumbles through the streets, ignoring the odd looks and hoping they don’t call the police. It was the last thing he needed, to get mundanes involved in this. The black-eyed man had as much of hatred for them as he did for the blonde and he clearly wasn’t afraid to show that if his demolished appearance was anything to go by. His nose had blood streaming out of it, one of his eyes was swollen almost completely shut, his left arm is broken, a large stab wound on his side, and he is positive that he has at least one broken rib. And that was only a few minutes worth of controlled violence. If mundanes try to find the other man, he feared a few injuries weren’t going to be what they’re left with. Assuming they’re left with anything at all.

He was glad when he reached the Institute. It was hallowed ground. He couldn’t get him here. 

It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to find his way inside but soon he was exiting an elevator, his injuries and blood loss starting to affect him. He was completely unsurprised to find Jonathan Herondale with his blade out, ready to slice him to the ground. It was equally unsurprised to find his sister nearby, a little more curious than the man with whom he shared a name with. It was probably the eyes. “Sebastian.” Was the only thing that left the Herondale’s mouth. The amount of venom in the singular word, if able to be consumed, would have caused him to drop dead on the ground, something he was already extremely close to doing.

“No.” The platinum blonde meets the gold eyes of his brother-in-law, dropping to his knees as he attempts to take a step, the injuries finally burning out his resolve.  _ All he had to do was deliver the warning, then they’d leave him to die in peace.  _ “No. Jonathan. Sebastian… he’s alive too. And he’s coming.” With the message he needed to give finally delivered, he drops the rest of the way to the ground, letting the darkness swallow him. The last thing he hears is his younger sister calling out in an overtly calm voice for help.


	5. 4

_ Charles stares blankly down at the work in front of him, trying to figure out why he had the sudden restlessness running through him. The children were in their classes, Erik was training the older students on the lawn, and Charles was supposed to be working on paperwork. He had planned on working while their youngest child slept but it seems that his mind had different plans. _

Oh well _ , he thinks to himself, _ I've gotten nearly two hours of work done and it's time for Cassie to wake up. _ As if on cue, he sees strands of purple hair dangling in the doorway, her body hidden around the corner.  _ Well, that would explain the sudden restlessness.  _ Knowing she had been caught, the three-year-old bursts into the room, holding a book in her arms and trying not to trip over her own two feet. _

Daddy, will you read me a book? _He hears in his mind as he pulls his little girl into his lap. He makes a tutting sound tapping the little girl on the cheek, “Now, Cassie. You have to tell me what you want.” She goes to send him the thought again only to have a mental push back. “Verbally. You have to speak.” The little girl lets out a whine, squirming in her father's lap. When she makes no move to speak, he adjusts her in his lap, turning back to his work. “Very well then. I do have a lot of work to do so…”_

_The little girl lets out another whine sending him the same phrase over and over again:_ Daddy, will you read me a book? _When she doesn't make any progress she lets out a huff. “Daddy… read... book?” She questions finally, tugging his hair slightly, earning a slight wince from her father. “Sowwy.”_

_ “It's okay, sweetheart.” Setting down the paperwork he was working on, he swept her up to sit on his hip, grabbing the book from her grip. “What do we have here?” _

_ “Alice.” She states wobbly. True to her word, she had brought him  _ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  _ the book he'd left on her dresser- which made him a little nervous, considering the dresser was much taller than her.  _

_ “Well, how did you get this down?” Cassiopeia smiles a mischievous smile that reminded Charles a bit too much of her father. Or her eldest sister. _

_ Lorna, as though she was one of the telepaths in the family, appears in the doorway, “Mind if I join, Dad? Got about an hour before John, Marcos, and I have to head out for a new recruit.” _

_ “Of course, Lorna. Your sister was about to tell me how she got this book off her dresser.” The young girl's smile seems to grow as she squirms out of her father's arms.  _ Watch .  _ She chants in their minds, before toddling over to the tall shelf Charles kept a bowl of candy on, knowing some of his younger children, namely Pietro, liked to raid it during school hours. Reaching her hands up in a grabbing gesture, the two adults watch curiously as purple mist appears around her hands. The glass candy bowl comes flying to her, barely caught in the little toddler’s hands before it could hit the ground. _

_ Walking back over to her surprised Dad, she places the bowl in his free hand smiling at him before wandering over to be picked up by her sister. “Telekinesis, huh?” The green-haired woman teases her sister softly. “Aren't you a quick learner?” _

_ “More like a fast developer. Most telepaths don't develop their secondary mutations until puberty, assuming they develop one at all.” Charles corrects absently, setting the candy bowl on the table. “Have you been watching the news?” _

_ “Mutant's rights laws are being passed all over the U.S., Dad. Your dream is finally being realized.” She pauses for a second licking her lips and glancing down at the toddler playing with her hair. “We still have people stationed in some of the areas with newfound rights, to make sure no one ends up hurt, or worse, and we’re keeping people stationed in the states that haven't accepted the new laws. But… I was thinking about something.” _

_ Before Charles could ask, Cassie had begun chanting, “Read Alice. Read Alice.” On repeat, her hand still playing with her sister's green hair. Both adults chuckle softly, Lorna easily settling the girl in her lap in one of the chairs, Charles taking up another and easily picking up where he left off last night. _

“Kirstin, right?” Hank’s voice questions from the doorway, causing the girl to jolt slightly, startled. She pulls her mind out of the alternate reality, quickly wiping the moisture from her cheeks. The blue-eyed man sends her a sympathetic look, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Didn’t scare me. Simply startled me.” Kirstin unfolds her legs from where she sat crisscrossed on the bed, climbing to a standing position. “If I was scared, you would have a knife at your throat. Or angry. Or threatened…” She smiles sheepishly, “Most of my moods involve knives in someway.”

“Lorna too. She almost always has knives on her, Charles-”

“Hates it.” they both say at the same time.

“Yeah… how did you?”

“I know you guys in the future.” She explains at his confusion.

“And you and Lorna are close?” He questions, almost sounding shocked.

“Like sisters.”  _ The best covers are the ones closest to the truth.  _ She could never remember who told her that but tended to follow it like a religion for the most part.

Hank chuckles to himself, picturing the idea of having another Lorna around.  _ I’m much worse. _ She sends his way, keeping her tone light. Hank shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips, “Charles, Erik, and Logan are brainstorming downstairs and thought you might want to contribute.”

“That explains why it smells like smoke in here.” Kirstin jokes, playing with her moon necklace and walking behind Hank.

He winces, clearly joking, “I actually think that was Charles trying to make breakfast.” It takes her a second to realizes he’s joking, the smile on his face pulling a surprised laugh out of her.

“That explains…”  _ Why Erik does all the cooking for the family. _ She doesn’t say. Instead, she fills in with, “ _ so much. _ ” 

Hank nods to himself, “Big mansion and it took every student half a day to learn to never let the Professor cook. Or Raven, for that matter. Erik is amazingly good at it, all things considered.” They reach the door to what appears to be an office. “This is your stop.”

“Didn’t know we were on a bus, McCoy,” Kirstin mutters, noticing a blonde watching them. “You should tell your boyfriend I say ‘Hi’ and that staring is rude.” Hank sputters out a protest for a moment, glancing back at Alex as he does. Instead of dignifying the answer with a verbal response, she salutes jokingly, stepping inside the room, laughing as she goes.

Her laughter trails off as she sits next to Logan, who is very obviously curious as to why she was laughing. “Oh, I love knowing things other people don’t.”

“Talking to Hank?” Logan guesses.

“Yep. I love the past. I can’t wait to talk to Scott and-”

“No.” Logan denies.

“But I-”

“No.” 

“You don’t even.”

“No.”

“But-”

“Hell no.”

“I’m gonna do it anyway.”

“Do you mind if we interject?” Charles asks quietly, looking between the two of them. Kirstin resists the urge to laugh at his confusion, knowing he hates not being able to feel anything from her at all. It was not much different than her time, except 2018 Charles is much better at hiding it and is certainly a little less overexcited about how strong her mutation must be to have an unconscious mental block. 

“Well, you already did so…” Kirstin trails of biting her lip to hold in a smile at Erik’s glare. What surprised her the most was that Erik didn’t seem that much… different? He was always prickly before he became her mentor and they warmed up to each other. She wasn’t quite sure if that was what she had to do now and she wasn’t planning on sticking around long enough to find out. “Let's talk ideas before Logan stabs me. Or I, him.”

Charles looks momentarily alarmed until Kirstin smiles and Logan snorts, “Okay… let’s.”

#

Erik watches Kirstin leave the room, running into Ryder in the hallway, “I feel as though she isn't telling us something.”

“She isn't telling us a lot of things, Erik. She is from the future, there are some things she cannot tell us. Why must you dig so deep into it?”

“Because I think we should be able to know what becomes of us, don't you?” The Master of Magnetism fires back, leaning forward.

“I think that them telling us about our future might cause it to change. Yes, I would enjoy knowing what we're like in the future. No, I will not ask because then these things might never happen.” Erik doesn't respond, watching Charles finish up whatever he was doing at the desk before signing and wheeling away. “Now if you excuse me, Erik, I need to help Kirstin work on her abilities so she can create a reality portal.”

#

_ In an Alternate Universe… _

_ “It’s over Amethyst. There's nowhere else to go.” Livia presses her gun to the back of the purple-haired girl's head. The bullets were specially made by Hunters she spoke to. _

_ “That is what you think.” The woman states boldly, pressing her hand to the necklace she wears. Before the girl can do anything, Livvy grabs her wrist, jerking it away from the stones. _

_ “It is.” Loading the gun, she moves to fire. A body slams into her as the gun fires, lodging into a wall farther away. She struggles against the body on top of her, elbowing Ash in the face as the Mind Stone dangles from his neck, his green eyes tinted red.  _

_ “Don't touch her.” He growls out in a surprisingly intriguing voice, something Livvia had grown used to since the boy became part of the Legion of the Star after Sebastian's death.  _

_ “Don't touch  _ me _.” She headbutts him, spinning out of the way of Jace's blade, and reaching for the gun that tumbled away from her. Ash grabs her, pulling her toward him harshly, the gun dropping out of her hands again. Amethyst sighs standing up at the same time a demon-blood-covered angel blade plunges through Amethyst from behind. She looks down at her side, stumbling forward slightly. _

_ Diana watches as the girl she had thrown the blade at stumbles forward, distracting Ash from hurting Livia. He surges up from attacking the brunette, trying to catch the girl before she falls. Livia takes the time to grab the gun, firing at her twice. A screech rings through the air as Amethyst uses the strength she has to toss Livvia through the air. A purple portal splits through the air, Livia tumbling through. Diana debates running after her before quickly opting to make a retreat when Jace moves to turn on her.  _ Livia was gone _ , Diana had to assume. Amethyst had done worse with less. _

_ Jace turns back to Amethyst and Ash, eyes glancing over them to the portal. “Get her up. We're going after her.” _

_ “She can't, Jace. She'll die.” The young teen denies it. _

_ Amethyst lets out an annoyed groan, “No.” The pained girl grinds out. “I want to go through. Take me through.” _

_ “You won't survive the-” Amethyst stares at him for a long moment, willing the stone around his neck to her liking. Standing up without another word, Ash drags the girl to her feet, the two blondes keeping her upright as they walked through the portal. _


	6. 5

_ The five-year-old girl stumbles along behind Soldat, trying to keep up with the machine of a man. They were apparently meeting her new handler, along with Soldat's current one. She had been training since she turned four and now she was trained enough that she needed more oversight than just Soldat and the people who had been training her. The girl was worried that she wouldn't get to be with Soldat anymore if she got a handler. While the man took a little work to actually remember her- along with small bits of himself she could retrieve with her minute, unsteady control of the telepathy she had- she enjoyed his company and was glad for the comfort he was willing to give. _

_“актив, иди сюда.”_ **(Asset, come here.)** _Someone snaps toward the girl. She quickly stumbles forward, knowing they only refer to Soldat as ‘_ the Soldier’ _now, Asset becoming her new title, as she didn't have a name. She comes forward, standing in front of Soldat as she waits for the others to begin._

_ “English, would you?” A brunette man stated, laughing to himself, “Not all of us took a second language, buddy.” The young brown-eyed man stands slightly behind him didn't seem to react, nor did the rest of the group. The girl resists rolling her eyes, knowing it would get her beaten. Nobody here talked like that, ever. The first man soon walks in front of her, examining the girl carefully, calculation clear in his eyes. “She's small. Malnutrition?” _

_ “No. She is given vitamin shots every day and eats whatever she's given. Simply her body shape. It makes her less noticeable when put undercover.” The voice speaks again, accent strong but speaking clear English. _

_ “Does she speak?” The man behind him snipes in amusement. _

_ “Yes. Multiple languages. German, Russian, English, Sokovian, Italian, French, and she is learning Latin.”  _

_ “That's a lot of languages for a child to know so young.” The first man speaks again. “Training?” _

_ “She is still training, getting better every day, and is soon going to surpass the training of the Widow program.” He stops examining her, crouching down in front of her. _

_ “What is your name, child?” He asks loudly, “In English.” _

_ “I…” She begins quietly, hoping she's not going to be hit. “Do not have a name. I am the Asset.” _

_ “Well, that won't do, will it, Grant?” Looking back at the younger man as he speaks, he stands, heading to stand next to him. _

_ “Don't know. You plan on keeping her, Garrett?”  _

_ “She'll work. After she's done training.” _

_ “Maybe something symbolic. I guess parents do that.” Grant offers, watching her closely.  _

_ “Hmm…” Garrett is quiet for a moment before snapping his fingers. “Amethyst.” The girl looks up. “Your name is now Amethyst. You will be referred to as Amethyst.” _

_ “Yes, sir,” Amethyst states quietly, staring at the ground. _

_ “I'll give her three months here, then I'll take her to train with me. See if you know what you’re doing. Let's go.” The two men leave as the girl stands there quietly.  _ Is she going to have to leave Soldat?

_ # _

_ Grant presses a stone into the girl's hand, turning away as he talks, “You will become like an Amethyst, John says. Durable, beautiful. You will be strong and resistant to breaking. Everything that makes a good soldier.” Amethyst watches warily as Grant leaves the room, John entering soon after, a dark look that Grant recognized too well.  _

_ He stands outside as the girl cries out for help, sobbing loudly. After a long time, John exits the room, his attire looking ruffed up in a way that was clear what happened, along with a bruise forming on his jaw from the girl's unnatural strength. “Let's go.” _

_ “Yep.” _

_ # _

_ Amethyst unclenches her hand from around the rough texture of the amethyst, trying to ignore the pain between her legs. She watches her hand heal the cuts from where her hand squeezed the stone too hard. She began chanting a phrase in her head, ignoring everything that happened the past half an hour.  _ I'm durable, I'm unbreakable. _ Was repeated like a mantra until hours after the man left, when she curled up in a ball and passed out, the amethyst still in her hand. _

#

Kirstin’s feet hit the ground with a thump, her momentum and grip doing the rest of the work to drop Erik to the ground with practiced ease, her foot coming to press gently against his throat. “That was surprisingly easy. Getting rusty, Lehnsherr.”

Something sparks in Erik's eyes and mind alike before Kirstin is flying backward, Erik using the metal on her shoes to send her flying backward. The metal was multipurpose; the idea originally sprung from the thought that she could kick ghost and harm other monsters that they hunt by using a special blend of metals that were spray painted black to match her boots and white to match her converse knock offs. Later it came in handy when she fell from thirty feet up while learning how to fly. That also earned her a metal bracelet around her wrist (with the words don’t be a dick written on them three times because ‘ _ fuck you, Erik, if I have to wear this, I’ll pick what design it has’. _ ) so there was no repeat incidents, something this Erik also used to his advantage. 

Her body slams against the wall knocking the wind out of her momentarily. “You should take those off during training. It makes it an unfair fight.” Erik declares, standing up with an annoying amount of effortlessness. He was in a brown leather jacket, a black shirt, and jeans and Kirstin always felt weird when she realized she and her father had an awfully similar fashion sense. Really, if nobody knew better, it would probably look like they were  _ trying _ to dress similarly. Kirstin was in a leather jacket also, a black one, with a plain white t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. 

The reaction when people found out that they were training in these clothes was kind of amusing but really, why would you want to train in sports outfits when you do most of your fighting in clothes you wear every day? It makes it harder to fight in jeans when you are used to fighting in spandex, harder to fight in heels- not that Kirstin wears heels, but Avery does and she would agree- when you train in sneakers. Sure, you start off like that in the beginning but Kirstin prefers the challenge of fighting in civilian clothing, knowing it was one she had faced before and will probably face again. “Nah, it isn’t really unfair, when you think about it.” Her other arm flicks out, sending him tumbling backward. The distraction isn’t enough to do any sort of damage but it does cause his abilities to falter, dropping the girl back onto her feet. “Because I can do the same thing to any object on your person.”

They had been training for two hours now, so the actual training had begun petering off into a demonstration of their capabilities, with a few fight moves thrown into the mix for the hell of it. In all honesty, Kirstin knew that Charles was off with Hank and Logan getting supplies, including more clothing for her and Ryder because they seem to be staying for a while, so Erik was in charge of keeping Kirstin busy and out of trouble, which she has proven she is really good at getting into.

“Pay attention.” A sheet of metal comes flying at her in a blink of an eye, startling her. With a jerk of her arm, a telekinetic shield seems to build in front of it, blocking the thin piece of metal before it could hit her. The metal shatters like glass as soon as it connects. 

“Well… that’s new.”

#

A purple breach begins to split in the air of the training room, Kirstin clenching her jaw at the force required. Charles and Logan stood on her left, Erik and Ryder on her right. They were suited up in the clothing they came here in, weapons and all, hoping to all hell that this works. Well, Kirstin is doing a bit more than hope.

She holds her arms open as though she's prying the portal open with her bare hands. It was close enough to the truth. She had to rip the fabric of reality and time to get home. The others were mesmerized by the growing portal, it was clear in their faces and their minds. It was a struggle that Kirstin feared she might lose, not that she was going to show it. The last thing they needed was the doubt.

Wetness begins to pool under her nose, something nobody notices in their awe. It began as a small droplet as the portal grew bigger, still too small for them to even think about entering, not to mention completely unstable. It wasn't like she was Jordan opening a time portal, she's opening a reality portal that is meant to mimic a time portal. Then it was a steady stream, dripping down over her parted lips. 

Logan was the first to figure it out, smelling the blood. Stepping around Charles, he reaches out to grab her shoulder. “Kirstin, you need to stop.” He didn't need to command her; by that time, she was too weak to continue, hanging on by a string of energy. She collapses unceremoniously, head-smacking sickly against the ground.

#

Charles could feel Kirstin's mind, an instance seemingly random as her mind seems to erupt into the air, her consciousness expanding out around her as she hits the ground. The others quickly got her to the lab under Charles’s request, Hank and Jean quickly stabilizing the girl even as her consciousness seems to attach to the brain waves around her, releasing before it could make a mental connection.  _ Oh,  _ he realizes belatedly,  _ she's riding the brainwaves.  _ He can read her mind when she's like this, a flurry of colors and emotions and a blocked section of her brain.

Against his better judgment, he begins to examine the mental wall, curious as to what might be behind it. A single push against the shockingly fragile wall and it seemed to shatter, the horrific memories flooding both minds. Kirstin's body pulls arches away from the table, a terrifying scream escaping her mouth. Objects in the room begin shaking dangerously, more than a few shattering. The machines go haywire as Charles begins to mentally soothe the girl, something her mind subconsciously took to like a fish to water. “What's happening?” Logan demands, turning to Charles.

“Nothing fatal. She will be fine. She simply needs rest. She overextended herself beyond anything you could have imagined.”

#

_ The cell door opens startling the sleeping Amethyst awake, a sound that always meant the need to be alert as fast as possible. A woman stumbles into the room, her body slamming onto the ground. The woman had dirty blonde hair- as in both the color description and the sense that her hair clearly hasn't been washed in a while- and had a collar around her neck, signifying that she was a mutant, one of her pretty blue eyes swollen and bruised down to the cheekbone. The soldier that had dragged her into the cell spits into her hair before slamming the door shut, yelling out a harsh Russian insult about the woman.  _

_ Amethyst slowly sits up, hoping not to startle the familiar woman. It was Grant Ward's… friend. The young mutant was sure they were together in some way, but they seemed to almost hate each other at the same time. It was odd. The woman catches her watching and her eyes almost immediately filled with tears, though her voice is cold and hoarse, as if she's been deprived of water for a long time. “What?” _

_ Without a word, the girl stands up, moving to their tub of drinking water, scooping some into one of the small plastic cups they have. Still saying completely silent, she thrusts her arm out harshly, a little of the water sloshing onto her small hand. The older woman stares skeptically, slowly reaching up to grab it from her, simply holding it instead of drinking. Amethyst stares at her expectantly, waiting for the woman to drink it instead of staring at it as though she fished it from the small toilet in the room. “Drink.” The word is harsh enough that it seems to snap the woman out of her reverie. She downs the cup in one large gulp and the girl retrieves her another. _

_ After she finishes the second cup, Amethyst examines the girl. “Better?” _

_ “Not really.” The woman's voice was as un-accented as Amethysts’, though the mutant girl was certain it wasn't due to the training she was given, instead just a consequence of living in a certain space of the United States.  _ Well, _ she realizes belatedly,  _ I guess that's an accent as well, no? _ “I've remembered why I hate Hydra, went against them in the best way I thought how, and now my own sisters are going to erase my memory of ever going against Hydra, or having a reason to.” She pauses for a second, a dark look in her eyes as she stares up at the girl. “But I'm no longer thirsty. So thanks.” _

_ They sit in silence for a long time, the blonde watching the purple-haired girl, blue eyes seeming to catalog everything about her as purple eyes do the same. The blonde woman's hair was rather long, with a little bit of brown in it. She couldn't help but compare it to how her hair was; short and tangled. The woman mustn't have been a prisoner for very long. _

_ “What is your name?” Amethyst finally asks, breaking the silence. She could read her mind, yes, but she prefers not to grow too close to prisoners and that can often happen after she sees their stories and feels what they feel.  _

_ A harsh laugh echoes through the room, the woman's eyes flickering away for a moment, “Kayla Frost. Kayla Silverfox. Kayla Lehnsherr. Take your pick.”  _

_ “Kayla? You were the one that brought me here, no?” Kayla stiffens noticeably, moving to stand in the middle of the room. She was warily glancing between the girl and the currently ‘sleeping’ Winter Soldier. He was in cryofreeze at the moment, Garrett requesting that he be put back under for a while because he thinks Soldat's attitude in between brainwashes might be affecting her. “Do not be scared. I will not hurt you. Not unless I want to be punished.” _

_ “You get punished a lot, don't you?” Kayla asks softly, eyes becoming cloudy again, starting to water. _

_ Nodding slowly, she examines the woman, who was oh-so-clearly upset.  _ Why was she crying so much? _ Amethyst wondered to herself. Her arms tuck around herself, Kayla quickly goes about composing herself again, glaring at the ground. Anger flared out of the girl, many self-deprecating thoughts in the mix. With a single look, the camera flicked to ‘safety mode’, as Soldat and her called it. That meant they only saw a loop of what was happening; something she set up with pieces of tech he snuck her when he comes back from missions, due to mental commands she made. “Why?” _

_ “I just…” She flares her hands out harshly, causing the other captive to suppress a flinch. “It's hard to explain why I did it, okay. You're seven, you won't understand.” Amethyst crinkles her nose in disgust, something she picked up from Grant- the most impressive thing about the older man- though she wouldn't let Garrett know about that. She didn't like the dark-haired man, far,  _ far _ from it, actually, but she found that Garrett made her uncomfortable and Soldat wasn't allowed to go many places with her. _

_ Something wells up in Amethyst, a feeling she had felt many times before during punishments she considered unjust.  _ Anger _ , she knows it is called, felt it through many other people besides herself. She heard the thoughts that put a name to the feeling, something she was never really taught to be in touch with; she was taught to do the opposite actually. Emotions were a distraction that could prove fatal. Then again, she would like to see someone go against her, especially when angry. _

_ Amethyst stands, causing Kayla to jump as her hands alight in her sudden burst of anger.“So explain it. I want to know and I cannot ask anyone else. I do not care what you think I do not understand, I hope I will remember what you say when I am older and I will understand then. You damned me to this life, the least you could do is answer for your actions- even if they were mistakes.”  _

_ Kayla's eyes widened imperceptibly, staring at the small girl in front of her. She had never seen her angry. Ever. Not when she was whipped with a vibranium tipped whip or when she was left to drown for hours on end-  _ days  _ on end. So much torture that she could get angry at, instead she's angry over information that would probably mean nothing to her even if she somehow got out of here. “You're wise for a seven-year-old.” _

_ “I am not wise, I am trained. Trained enough to know that you are simply stalling.” Kayla smirks up at her, glad that she was perceptive.  _ Might be able to see through Hydra bullshit after all… someday.  _ “Speak. Now. Before I show you the  _ rest  _ of my training.” _

_ “Thought you didn't want to risk punishment?” _

_ “I'm beginning to change my mind. I would rather take a whip to the back than not know anything about myself.” Another step forward, Amethyst's eyes seeming to glow in the dark lighting of the cell. “Talk.” _

_ “Fine,” Kayla replies shortly, her voice clipped. Despite her want to tell her, Kayla hated being told to do something. This was probably why Hydra resorted to mental manipulation to control her, along with threatening her mother and her sisters. “Hydra wanted a weapon, specially created to their image. They wanted someone powerful and your parents fit the bill. All of their children were too old or too protected. The organization needed a man on the inside. Or woman. They sent me. _

_ “I had no choice, Amethyst. None. They have my  _ mother _ \- my  _ sisters _ \- here, within their reach and under their control. I did what I had to to keep people I care about safe.” Amethyst takes a step back as Kayla talks, watching the emotions overtake her. Pure sadness lurches through Amethyst's head.  _

_ “Who were my parents?” Her voice croaks as she places her hands on the bed to steady herself. _

_ Kayla laughs to herself. “You don't want to know.” She laughs again, seeing Amethysts blank expression. “Your father- our father- was an awful man. You so much as mention him and Hydra has a heart attack. It is not something you want to know about, trust me. _

_ “He killed many Nazis, thank god… other men too. He hurt your mother in his thirst for revenge; paralyzed him. Then ran to my mother in his heartbreak. Nine months later, I'm born in Hydra custody. Depressing, right? They had me since I was a baby but they didn't even try to train me.” A bitter laugh tears from her throat. “God, why do I care, it's probably a good thing, and yet… I will never live up to you or your siblings, no matter who you talk to. Hydra, Grant, our father… it doesn't matter. Your mother loved you, he really did. So,  _ so _ much. But nothing compared to how much your father loved you.  _

_ “I was… I was going to leave you there. They loved you as my mom loved me. I was going to leave you, then they were going to kill my sisters. I am so sorry. I…” She stares for a long moment. “Need a favor…” _

_ “Favor? What is that?” Scanning Kayla's mind, she stares blankly at her. “You want me to… why?” _

_ “Make it look like an accident if you have to, anything. I can't… they are going to take me in to get mind-wiped by my sisters. I can't- w-won't put them through that. Do it. Before they send me back out to undo what I did.” Amethyst's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  _

_ “What did you do?” The woman stands up, stumbling forward to press her hands on both sides of the girl's head, getting closer to her. _

_ “I set your little partner free. They did experiments on him, you two killed ninety people and he was under mind control almost the entire time. The Cuckoos always do what they're told… He didn't deserve to be here. I made him forget and I sent him  _ home. _ Where he belongs.” Amethyst's bottom lip wobbles as the memories of watching the torture from a spectator's perspective, instead of being one of the ones being experimented on. She knew it was all her own doing but she couldn't  _ stop.  _ “If they get into my head, they will find him and hurt him. You need to kill me, so he can live happily; so the Cuckoos have less leverage being used against them. Please.” _

_ Amethyst stares for a silent moment.  _ She wants me to kill her? _ She questions herself. “Heart or brain?” _

_ “Brain. I'm too healthy to have a heart attack. Anyone can have unknown brain problems.” Nodding, she pulls her arm back going to sit on the bed again.  _

_ Her eyes flutter closed, her body becoming tense as she shoves her mental presence at the woman, overtaking her brain. A cry goes to leave Kayla's mouth, so Amethyst seals her mouth shut, her lips vanishing completely as the skin knits together. With the cries muffled, she focuses on making her death as swift as possible. Amethyst grits her teeth as every part of Kayla's brain begins to shut down, the brain shutting off completely. Finally… emptiness. There was nothing left for the Cuckoos to find, nothing left for the agents to interrogate. Just wide eyes staring at her and a mutilated mouth warping back to normal. Not three hours after meeting Kayla, her half-sister, did she kill her. _

_ Switching the camera back on, she manipulates the footage to show a version of what happened before laying down on the bed. She stays silent even as the guards rush in, grabbing the ‘comatose’ woman and getting her out of the room without blinking an eye in her direction.  _ Good. _ She thinks to herself, curling up in a ball and trying to forget the pain Kayla felt in her last moments. _


	7. 6

_ Logan sighs, swinging the door to Wade's house open. He knew the man wasn't going to be home; he was currently going on an assignment in Asia, so he would be gone for a few days. That did not, however, line up with the fact that all the lights in the small apartment were on and that there was a person sprawled out in the bed. _

_ Kirstin. His mind supplied with a simple glance around the room. It had been two months since they first met and it was still awkward between them, despite his boyfriend's love for the young girl. It wasn't the first time she had crashed at the house but it was the first time he had actually seen her sleeping. Up until this moment, he wasn't even sure she slept.  _

_ Stripping off his leather jacket and plaid overshirt, he moves through the house, noticing that a lot of Kirstin's stuff was spread across the apartment. Her bag was next to the door, her shoes next to the couch, and her pants and overshirt dropped next to the bed, her body still covered in a tank top and spandex, something he was grateful for. He didn't want to come home to a little girl virtually naked in his bed, that would be extremely uncomfortable.  _

_ There was a knock on his door, earning an eye roll from the man, who knew exactly who it was. Walking back, he flings the door open to reveal Jean and Scott. “What?” _

_ “So this is where you've been running off to,” Scott states blandly, eyes seemingly roaming the room. Unbeknownst to the other two, his eyes were instantly drawn to the small form in the bed. “What, you got a kid now?” _

_ Logan's eyes don't leave him as he scoffs, “I hope not.” He begrudgingly lets them enter, heading to grab a beer. “Wade's… friend, I guess. Why he's friends with a thirteen-year-old, I will never understand, but he is. She crashes here sometimes when she needs space from her family. Hear they’re a lil’ overprotective or somethin’. Somethin’ you need or were you just followin’ for the thrill o'it?” _

_ # _

_ Kirstin awakens as the door slams shut, having already been in a state of shallow sleeping. She heard and processed everything around her, but wasn't actually awake. She often indulged in this form not-quite-sleeping since she had been admitted into Lynwood especially with the number of drugs they had placed into her dampened system. She doesn't move when she wakes, nor does anything about her change, she stays in the same position confused as to why the door had closed until she heard the muttering Logan was doing about someone named Slim and minding their own damn business.  _

_ Recalling that Logan had been talking to others, she sits up slowly, knowing the man wasn't technically a threat to her, even if they were tense around each other. “Did you know me and Wade are friends because I tried to kill him?” _

_ Logan turns to face her, not even looking surprised that she's awake, “Normally that'd get you shot.” _

_ Kirstin laughs, climbing out of the bed and tugging her shirt up slightly to reveal multiple scars that Logan could easily see being caused by bullets. “It did. I was seven at the time too, so it must've looked pretty odd. I slit his throat and he shot me once. I broke his neck and he shot me twice. I shot him twenty times and he shot me three more times. We fought till he got bored and fed me pizza. Then he wrote his number on a card and gave it to me and I threw him out a window and told my handlers I did my job. When they found out I didn't…” She trails off, her face falling slightly. Shaking her head as if shaking off the awful memories, “Anyway, so a few weeks later I get out and the first thing I do is call this number. He calls S.H.I.E.L.D, which causes me to panic, I destroy a few cars in said panic, and then I'm being adopted by an amazing Agent and her family. So really, Wade's the reason I'm not the greatest supervillain to ever walk the earth.” _

_ “You think you'd make a great supervillain?” It was more of an attempt to appease her, Kirstin knew, but Logan had seen what she could do with simple telepathy tricks. He was probably concerned that she could be a supervillain, especially if Wade had told him the rest of what she could do. _

_ “Hell yeah. I'd be a good one too. A Loki instead of a Doom. Maybe an Ultron.” Kirstin winces at her own words.  _ Too soon _. She thinks bitterly. _

_ “Why are you here today?” Kirstin raises an eyebrow at the abrupt change in conversation. “Two weeks ago it was that everyone was being too loud. Right after Ultron, it was just the massive sorrow in everyone's thoughts and Coma-Boy's sedimentary mind- _

_ “Big word, shocked you know it.” Kirstin snipes without thinking, actually pulling a chuckle from the gruff older man. _

_ “-so what is it this time?” Kirstin fiddles with a piece of paper on the counter, sitting on a cold barstool. _

_ She shrugs muttering nonsense for a few moments, hoping that would get him to leave her alone. When it was clear he wasn't just going to let her clam up she lets out a sad sigh, tearing off the corner of the blank paper, “Tony set up Friday, his new A.I., today. I miss Jarvis.” _

_ “That the only reason you're here?”  _ Might as well say it. Already told him one part, the rest shouldn't hurt.

_ “It's just… I forgot how clinical the Compound feels. It was fine when everyone was there, but everyone's scattered or training and I just… it just… yeah.” Kirstin plays with the small piece of paper, listening to him mentally click the pieces together. _

_ “Reminds you of Lynwood.” He finishes for her. “Makes sense.” _

_ “That's the thing!” Kirstin snaps angrily hands slamming down of the flat top of the counter, “It doesn't make sense. I love the Compound. I love the Avengers but it feels like a constant reminder of Lynwood and of Bruce being missing and Thor being off-world, and… Steve's off hunting for the Winter Soldier. It's just so… empty.” _

_ “How much of your past do you remember?” Logan questions, shifting the gears of the conversation. He found that changing the subject is something that Kirstin enjoys doing when things get too emotional but she clearly wasn't thinking about it right now, too lost in that hopeless, empty feeling in her gut. _

_ “Harder to say. I remember bits and pieces, the farther back the blurrier the pieces of memory get. The closer to my escape, the less blurry they are, though they still are few and far between. What about you? Your memories?” _

_ “Here and there, rather spotty. Definitely blurry.” The telepath gets an idea, climbing out of her chair and jumping to sit on the table in front of the older man. _

_ “Let me see if I can help.” She proclaims, trying to press her hands to his temples, only for Logan to catch her hands, pulling them toward his chest. _

_ “I've already had a telepath look through my mind, Kid, that's a bad idea. There are some things you don't want to feel. ” She rolls her eyes, an almost offended look crossing her face. Drawing her hands back, she laughs dryly. _

_ “Torture? Felt it. Pain? Used to it. There is nothing that could have been done to you that I haven't already experienced. I just… I want to help. The least I can do is try.” She pulls her hands away gently placing them on his temples, pushing her powers through the barrier that constantly seems to be up.  _

_ Images flash through their minds quickly, the blurry images molding together until she arrives at one that quickly begins to clear. It was Logan fighting a man alongside a man with claw-like nails, which Kirstin found gross in its own special way. They seemed to be fighting in a war of some kind and they fought together perfectly in synch like they had been fighting together for a long time. The memory itself was a blur of fighting, clawing, and shooting. _

_ With a lurch, the images seem to shift again, pulling them into a darker, painful memory. Falling into the ocean, body stiff and slightly painful. A small cage of complete darkness and panic. Needles stabbing into his body, hot liquid spreading through him. Agony, pure and unadulterated, then nothingness. For a silent moment, the memory seemed to blip off to blackness. A surge of pain, then a large gulp of water and gasp for air. Large, metal claws plunging out of his hands where bone ones used to be. Kirstin's hands seem to tighten on either side of his head before she's yanking away, the memory cutting off as she grips her head in pain. _

_ Jerking forward, she nearly slips off the counter. Logan easily catches her, setting her back on the counter as she continues to grab her head, an old memory of hers. Something being pressed into her palms hard enough to burn, awful jolts of energy surging through her as the blue cube pulses in her hands. “Alright. Easy there, come on.” Logan sweeps her up, moving to set her on the bed, stiffening awkwardly as she presses her face into his shoulder. _

_ Kirstin keeps her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the initial headache to pass, Logan running a hand through her hair all the while. “Told you it was a bad idea.” _

_ “You know, I read in a book somewhere that ‘told you so’ has a brother named shut the fuck up, Logan.”  _

_ “Where did you read that?” He asks, hiding his amusement. _

_ “A book in the Twilight series, I think. Not the point. Your memory just triggered one of my own.” She explains what she saw, earning an uncomfortable wince from the man. _

_ “What a fucked up pair we make. A thirteen-year-old torture survivor and a man who doesn't even know his own age.”  _

_ “When you say it like that, doesn't sound as bad.” Logan raises an eyebrow at the joking girl, who bursts out laughing, “Okay, yeah, it still sounds bad. Whatever.” _

#

It took a month for them to come up with a new idea. At least half of that month was spent with Kirstin staring into space lost in awful memories of Hydra as her telepathy seems to mock her by picking up the general ease and happiness the mansion seemed to exude in early August. New students were starting to show up and everyone was eager to see what they could do. Kirstin was stuck in a daze-like state, new memories making it hard to tell what was the current time, what was her memories, and what was alternate realities. Usually, the alternate realities would stay in her dreams but the memories were also in her dreams, so it would take her at least half an hour to decipher the difference.

Now, with a little help from Charles, who felt guilty for his part in the breaking of her mental walls- though she made it clear she was extremely happy to know about her past, not to mention the abilities she now knew she could possess if she simply worked on them a little more- her reality warping powers were extending to new heights. The downfall is that Logan and Ryder were watching her like hawks during every training session. Hopefully, they won't have to do it for much longer.

Now, Kirstin stands in Cerebro, trying to hide the fact that she's terrified to come anywhere near the machine, even when it's off. She didn't trust herself not to lose control when the helmet is on her head, even with the warning and the small amount of training this Charles could provide. It was mostly the idea of millions of minds pressing against her at once that startled her, sometimes she could barely handle the people who lived in the Compound. It was too late to back out now though, so she keeps her head high, watching the red, white, green, (which was apparently what demon-blooded people and monsters looked like) and gold (the angel-blooded people) figures dance around her as the machine kicked on.

Her job was simple enough, in writing. All she had to do was use her connection to Mason to communicate, Cerebro acting as a gateway between their minds, extending her range out across time. In writing, sure it seemed simple enough to talk to someone who was almost constantly in your head. In reality, however, it was far more difficult than it sounded. It took her much longer than expected to even start to feel Mason’s presence, let alone communicate with him. Soon though the scene above her began to shift as she begins looking through his eyes. Then, as everything begins to come into view, Kirstin squeezes her eyes shut, not so quietly chanting, “Please don’t be naked, please don’t be naked, please don’t be naked.”

#

In Topanga’s, Mason sits across from Riley and Maya, who were talking about god-knows-what, fist clenched harshly around his coffee cup. He had stayed up all night with Jack, attempting to help the Winchesters with any leads on some spear and whatever the hell the metal egg was called. Jack had come with him here, kissed him goodbye, and disappeared to the Bunker about an hour ago, leaving him with the whole gang. Or, the people of the gang that were still able to be here. Maya, Riley, Zay, Lucas, Avery, and Sabrina, along with Farkle and Smackle on a video call on someone’s phone. The days had begun blurring together at this point. Almost all of them consisted of, train, eat, help the Winchesters, help the Avengers, rinse, and repeat. The only differences were occasions like this; when he has extra time that he should be using to sleep, he spends it instead with his friends or his family or his boyfriend. Mostly his boyfriend, who just lost his cousin to a time portal, is a participant in a losing battle against a powerful archangel, and could definitely use some TLC right now.

But sitting here as the others bicker and tease and be a tight-knit  _ family  _ felt wrong without Kirstin and Ryder bickering over him as they sit on other sides of him, randomly tossing out inuendos to make the others laugh or to break each other's stand-offish facades. It felt a little heavier when they realized that most of the group had been nothing but dust in the wind a little over a month and a half ago. That at least a few of them had actually seen the person responsible for that, and another hand full of people they knew undid it. It felt heavier when Wanda and Pietro took the other two’s spot because they felt a need to be near Mason almost constantly, in case something changes with Kirstin and because they were concerned about him. 

He takes a sip of his coffee when a piercing headache shoots through him. The coffee drops from his hands as they shoot up to cling to the sides of his head. “Fuck!” The coffee stops in mid-air, a hand covered in red mist stopping it from hitting the ground.

_ “Fuck!”  _ Is the first thing that comes through as the scene begins to shift around them, showing something Kirstin has seen many times since a link had been created between Mason and her. Well, the blur around the edge was familiar, it was a slightly different scene every time. It was currently a coffee cup being suspended in the air by a hand sporting a familiar red mist around the fingertips.

“Well, isn’t your friend welcoming?” Erik states flatly, hiding his shock at the turn of events. Even when Charles sought out a specific mind, they couldn’t see what he did, and he rarely saw through their eyes with such ease.

“Well, I just got a piercing headache that seems distant, so I assume my presence is probably going to cause at least three Asprin’s to go missing from Topanga’s not-so-hidden stash in the shop. I think that’s where he’s at.” As if to confirm this, Katy’s voice rings through the room.

_ “Mason. Are you okay there, buddy?” _ Mason waves her off at Kirstin’s slight command, standing up and exiting the building, a person not far behind.

**_KIRSTIN! IS THAT REALLY YOU?_ ** A collection of winces echo through the room as the loud thought also echos through it. “Maybe not so loud? You’re kind of screaming.”

Mason shakes his head at the complaint, amused. **_Of course, that’s the first thing you say to me after this long._** _You’ve always been rather loud._ ** _Where are you?_** _Uh… The X-Mansion?_ ** _A bit more specific please, since-_** _with Charles, Erik, and Logan. Watch what you say. I’d rather not break time._ Mason snorts to himself, letting Wanda guide him somewhere secluded enough that he won’t look like a complete crack head, laugh at random things that no one else can hear. Or responding to Kirstin’s thoughts out loud.

“I am in 1995 and I need you to call Tony. Or have her do it. I need him to build me something. Quickly,” Kirstin states firmly, pressing her shaking hands against the control panel, making sure that she doesn’t actually press anything important. “I don’t have much time.”  **_You got it._ **

#

Andy watches the sky from the roof of the X-School, feeling oddly worried, despite the movie-quality view he had of the woods that surrounded the school. It was so picturesque, Andy sometimes couldn’t believe he lived here. Of course, the reality usually sunk in when his sister would smile at him before heading into her bedroom with her new friends or when Lorna convinced him to train with her the short periods she was here. These occurrences had been usually kept to a maximum of a week at a time, once every two or three months. She had currently been staying here for nearly two weeks now and didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon.

Not that Andy could blame her; her sister was missing, the students have been looking to her family to keep things together, her husband and her best friend are running around the world saving people like she normally would with them, and her fathers seem to be running themselves ragged between pretending they're alright, making sure their kids were alright, and trying to help contain the aftermath of the destruction of those stones, all while trying to train this generation of mutants. The green-haired girl clearly had a lot on her plate, meaning she wasn’t leaving anytime soon. And yet…

“Hey.” Lorna starts softly, catching the brunette's attention. He turns to face her quietly, a smile on his face. “You okay?”

He nods, turning to look back up at the sky. “Perfectly fine. Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

Lorna shrugs to herself, opting to stare out at the woods rather than at the sky, “Probably but I’m not the one standing so close to the edge of the roof.” Andy makes a noise of protest, realizing just how close to the edge he was. The older woman laughs to herself. “It's okay, I didn’t think you were going to jump. I was more concerned about you getting distracted and falling off. Don’t have enough metal on you for me to save your ass. Jean probably could, if she and Scott weren’t out meeting a great-niece she didn’t know existed until a few weeks ago. Alex really needs to start telling people when his spawns show up. Or, you know, that he had spawns in the first place.”

Andy nods along, knowing exactly who she was referring to. Avery Winchester. One of Jordan’s friends and Hank and Alex’s granddaughter. It was weird to think that she was the adopted sister of Kirstin, Lorna’s sister- who he didn’t know was related to her until they all got Dusted. Oh well, he tried not to think about the specifics of this. Mostly because it made his head hurt. “So, assuming you didn’t come up here to see me… why did you come up here?”

Lorna lets out a laugh, one that was surprisingly light-hearted considering the news she followed it with. “Well, it turns out the Cuckoos are my half-siblings… or third siblings? I’m not sure how genetics work in scenarios like theirs. My dad, Bucky, and Emma Frost are their parents,” She has to swallow another laugh at his confused, and a little disgusted, expression, “they used three-parent IVF before it was legal, essentially. There was none of… that involved. Well, unless you count Emma mind controlling my dad into a situation that she can collect his… DNA sample, from. I told the Cuckoos to shut up after that tidbit was given to me; didn’t really needing them to go into detail about stuff like that.”

Andy stays silent for a moment before putting his hands up to his head and mimicking an explosion coming out from his ears, making similar noises with his mouth. “You look almost nothing alike. Slight similarities in the face, I guess, but you could have that with a complete stranger. That’s so cool though. Like, how many siblings do you have now?”

Lorna doesn’t laugh this time, in fact even the smile she had withered off her face, “Well, if you count the three who are dead, I have thirteen siblings. If you don’t count Kayla, Nina, and Irma, I have ten. Who knows, we could probably have more, knowing my fathers. Especially Dad, according to Raven. Which is kind of terrifying, considering it used to just be Dad, Jean, Hank, and I. Now I have my siblings and something like eight cousins? And a husband who wants to have, like, three kids. So… yeah, new subject?” Andy hums to himself trying to think of something else to think of when a purple portal appears in the sky, something seeming to fall out of it. No… someone. 

“Lorna!” He yells out, pointing towards the girl. 

“Holy-” She reaches out for any metal on the girl, finding large quantities of it. Most of the metal was actually weapons, something Lorna found surprising. Then again, she did just fall out of a purple hole in the sky. Thrusting her hands out, she draws the quickly falling body back up and towards the roof, hoping she doesn’t end up hurting the girl due to sudden shifts in momentum and direction. When the body draws closer, she begins to slow down the speed at which she was flying towards her in an attempt to cushion the blow of hitting the roof. It worked, for the most part. The worst thing that happened to the girl was that she dropped from about a foot above the roof due to Lorna losing focus as Hank rushes up with Charles.

It took Lorna a minute to recognize the girl. She’d seen her before in photos when she met Julian Blackthorn and the rest of her cousins. This was Livia Blackthorn, the Blackthorn’s dead sister. Charles looks up at his daughter, meeting her in the eyes. “If she came from that portal, she is  _ not _ Livia. At least, not from this reality.”

“We need to get her inside.” Hank declares and begins setting about doing just that as Lorna reaches for her phone. Julian should  _ probably _ know about this.


	8. 7

Amethyst purses her lips, tracing the edge of her glass as Jonathan smirks at the platinum blonde in front of them. “Sebastian.” She states blandly, watching this earth’s Morgenstern flirt with the Seelie Queen. “Focus would you? How did you get here?”

“Magic, for lack of better explanation.” The dark-haired woman stands proudly next to him, the Seelie Queen looking uncomfortable at her. The red-haired Seelie was a large contrast to the dark-haired demon or even the blonde monster next to them both. Amethyst was completely unimpressed, hoping the man would submit himself to her rule. “It is a wonder to see Jonathan, my brother, here in the Seelie realm without fighting his enemies. Though, from what the Queen has told me, it seems that you are not the Jonathan I remember. And you,” He turns to the mutant, “were a loyal servant of mine, yes?”

_ No, asshole. _ “Yes, sir. I was your most trusted advisor. I fought for you until your dying breath.” She smirks, letting the half-truths hang in the air.

“Brilliant.”

#

Peggy Carter sits in the middle of a rambunctious group of aliens. An idea that seemed more foreign than the fact that she was in the house of Howard Stark’s son, who was engaged to her ex, in the middle of 2018, because Steve isn’t dead, just frozen. But  _ aliens? _ They looked like people and acted like people from old England. They didn’t understand the references that also went over her head. Really, this had to be a practical joke, pulled by Howard with all his extravagance.

Except Howard sat next to her, looking even more baffled than her and there was no way he knew what half of the words or inventions being spoken of were, let alone had the presence of mind to come up with them. It was one of the few reasons she didn’t call complete bullshit on the proceedings, the other being little things in how people from now act, including the aliens. Women kissing women (and men kissing men) in public, women doing whatever they wanted without a single condescending word from any of the men in this Compound, especially not toward Natasha, and the way they speak. Not to mention the slew of documentation they have about the past leading up to today's date.

So Peggy waits for Steve to slip into the kitchen, following after him in an attempt to talk, deciding that, as long as she’s here, she might as well learn as much as she can. The blonde was closing the fridge with a water bottle in hand by the time she entered. “Peggy, hey.”

“Steve.” The word hangs in the silence of the pristine kitchen. “How could something so bleak become so… lively?”

“I know. It's odd to think that after the war, we started progressing to this.” The blonde states, noting her wonderment instead of the anxiousness he had felt when he first came to this new time. “But this world is far from perfect. In the beginning, it's like the happy ending in a movie, no more problem no more worries. Just sunshine and rainbows. Then you turn on the television and there are people dying, senseless attacks. Racism, sexism. Purifiers are let off on three months of parole even after murdering thousands of people. The world didn't change its views, just got better at hiding its prejudices.” 

“What happened to my Steve Rogers?” Peggy questions softly. “The one who saw the best in the world, who hated bullies and would put up a fight to the end.”

“He's still here, Peg. He just isn't as naive anymore. I know so many things I hadn't before and it made me a better person and a better hero. I wish everyone was worth saving but I've learned the hard way that it is not always true. Everyone deserves a second chance. Most people don't use it.” 

“Captain, Sir requests your presence in the lab.” Friday declares, stopping Peggy from saying anything.

“Do you know why?” Steve asks, head tilting towards the ceiling.

“Sir and Mr. Banner are currently helping the children, trying to stabilize a time breach in the lab and Sir requested to have all the active Avenger downstairs in ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Friday.” He pauses long enough to place a gentle hand on Peggy's shoulder before heading down to the lab, eager to find a way to get the others back from the past and the duo back  _ to _ the past. 

#

**_He finished it._ ** Kirstin smiles, biting her lip softly, looking back at Ryder. She purposely ignores the fact that Erik is standing back at the entrance of Cerebro. The doors were closed, meaning he had to be slightly farther inside than she’s sure he would prefer. The only reason he was in there in that he’s someone who knows how to work the controls and has enough will power to get the stubborn girl to stop before she pushes herself too far and sets the return date back even farther than the month she already had. Not that he could blame her. She clearly has something good going on back in her time, if her friend is anything to go on. He wouldn’t want to waste time getting back to what he saw as the perfect life. Though the sad looks she got sometimes, and the story he heard from Charles after he got his chance to snoop in her mind, it was nowhere near as perfect as she describes it.

“Perfect. That means we can move on to plan B.” She declares eagerly, glancing around the lab through Mason’s eyes. “I’d say a little off to the side but not right against the wall because we don’t know what side we would come out of, nor would we know how it works. When is Jordan getting there?”

As if on a cue, Mason hears the strawberry blonde girl’s laughter down the hall. They can distantly hear him calling Jordan’s name. Erik watches Ryder instantly perk up at the sound of the young woman’s laughter, his hand coming to clasp Kirstin’s in his excitement.  _ Hmm… how long has that been going on?  _ _ The entire time, Darling. You were just too blinded by your suspicious nature to notice. _ _ Are you not supposed to be teaching a class, Liebling? _ Erik could hear the amusement Charles felt at his short answer, though he still felt the urge to rip Ryder’s hand away from the young girl, whom he felt surprisingly protective over. 

_ “Alright, so what exactly is the plan?”  _ Jordan asks as she comes to stand next to Mason, Andy not far behind her, along with a rather stoic Lorna. Erik’s posture goes from slightly relaxed to rigid in no time flat, his own curiosity taking over, an act that rarely happens. She didn’t look much different than she was now, but he could clearly see a wedding band on her hand and a familiar  _ ‘I found my way around another rule’ _ smirk on her face.

_ “I thought we agreed that none of the Xaviers were supposed to come?”  _ Mason states, clearly proving exactly  _ what _ rule Lorna had broken.

_ “Technically I’m a Lehnsherr. Plus, Lauren wanted someone to go with her brother and she was stuck training with David.” _ Lorna shrugs, gesturing for them to carry on. Mason’s eyes move back to Jordan.

“She’s going to create a portal at the same time we do, drawing power from you as I draw power from Ryder. We theorized that the time portal and the portal that’s trying to mimic it will connect to each other, opening a two-way portal to let Ryder, Logan, and I through.” Mason repeats the information back to Jordan, who nods slowly.

_ “Okay. Yeah, let’s do it!”  _ Kirstin glances back to Erik, who goes to collect Logan from where ever he was at in the Mansion.

**_“Let’s do this.”_ ** All of them declare at the same time, earning a snort from Ryder and a wince from Mason.

Jordan grabs Mason’s hand, extending hers towards the spot they dictated as ‘the portal spot’- clever, they knew. Kirstin and Ryder follow the same process, putting the ‘portal spot’ ( _ real original, Mason _ ) slightly out of the way of the walk, meaning they’d have to jump slightly to reach it. The power begins to build in their bodies, Ryder and Kirstin admitting a dark purple-bordering-blue color whilst Mason and Jordan admit a muted orange that reminded Kirstin of not fully ripe fruit. A shiny, mist-like, unripe fruit.  _ Yeah, why not? _

Logan enters at the same time a large blast shoots through the room, sending him stumbling back slightly. When he recovers, he notices the eery silence inside the chamber for Cerebro and rushes inside, worried they messed up and got themselves injured. What he finds instead is exceptionally better.

Kirstin and Logan stare on in awe as they look into the portal. The portal itself seems temporarily confused as to what’s going on. It stays purple for a long moment, a slight green in the center before it fades to blue. After an agonizingly long few minutes, it finally shifts to green, a faint image of what’s on the other side coming through as Ryder steps closer at the same time as Jordan does through Mason’s eyes, even as Tony and Bruce set up the stabilizers around the portal, Lorna’s abilities coming in hand as she moves the metal with practiced ease.

Without warning the images through Mason’s eyes disappear, Kirstin quickly shutting down Cerebro and taking off the connected helmet. Logan had paused long enough on his way down to grab all the stuff they brought from the future. They were all silent as they turned toward the portal, Erik watching from the doorway. It was silently decided that Logan was to go first. 

His body disappears from their sight with ease and the other two could see his figure faintly through the time breach, glancing at the group of people who seemed to gather in the lab for this moment. Next was Ryder, who seemed reluctant to leave Kirstin there, even for a split second, as if the portal was suddenly going to close. He had barely disappeared through the portal before he got an armful of Jordan.  _ God, it was clear they missed each other. _

Finally, it was Kirstin’s turn. She stands there for a moment, glancing over at Erik, who was watching with an intense gaze, “So long, Lehnsherr.” She gave the older man, a man who had absolutely no idea he was her father, a little salute before jumping into the portal. The green portal swirls for a moment before closing suddenly.

“Goodbye, Kirstin.” He says quietly to himself, exiting the empty Cerebro chamber to take care of the twins, who Lorna was begrudgingly watching for the moment. The name felt odd to him, his suspicions about the young girl still ever-present but completely useless now.

#

_ Kirstin sits quietly, watching Avery interact with her friends. They were a very unique group; one of them, Zay, was very visibly mutant. Maya and Sabrina were also mutants, Kirstin remembered helping them with outfits that work with their abilities. Then there was the tall blonde, Lucas, the slightly shorter brunette woman, Riley, and Smackle and Farkle, who Kirstin had met in her advanced classes. Smackle and Farkle, after the girl had been declared ‘not a dumb-dumb’ by the former, informed her that she is invited to hang out with them, especially after they found out she knew Maya and Sabrina. _

_ They were definitely odd, that much, Kirstin knew, was for sure. She was curious just how  _ odd _ they were. “I don't know. What do you think, Kirstin?” Mason, definitely her favorite of the group by far, questions, looping her into the conversation. _

_ “Hmm?” _

_ “What do you think I should do my science project on?” _

_ Kirstin rests her chin on her hand, her elbow resting on a closed science book in her lap. “Hmm…” _

_ Riley gets really excited all of a sudden, pulling a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. “How about the…” _

_ She quickly unfolds the paper, Maya grabbing the other end of it. Or well, ‘picture’ is probably the proper word, considering on the paper was just a giant, gross looking fish. “Blobfish!!” The duo yells out in synch, earning a flat look from the younger girl. _

_ “No,” Kirstin replies, staring at the ugly creature. It reminded her of a giant booger. _

_ “Why!?!” Riley yells right back, eyes wide _

_ “Because, no.” Maya starts laughing, Riley turning to look at her new friend, an almost evil look in her eyes as Kirstin offers her point of view. “How about the genetic difference between mutant and non-mutant siblings? That's something you can do, right?” Mason nods, smiling at the shorter girl. _

_ “I will make you love this ugly little guy, Kirstin. You’ll see. You’ll love him till his goopy end.” Riley declares firmly, folding the picture back up and tucking it in her pocket. _

_ “Do you always keep that on you?” Zay asks. _

_ “Yes.” _

#

“Hey, Kirstin?” Riley would ask, years later after Kirstin came back from a different time. 

“Yes, Riley?”

“Blobfi-”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because, no. Do we have to go over this again?” Riley would huff and sink into her chair before tuning back to whatever the two girls’ best friends were arguing about today as Ryder watches on in total confusion. He wasn’t there when the two girls first had the conversation but had been there for every single one afterward and now, even after spending nearly a month and a half with Kirstin in 1995, he didn’t have a damn clue why they did it. At this point, he wasn’t even sure he cared. He was just glad they were home as safe as can be at the time being. And eating Topanga’s food. He had missed that when he was gone.


	9. 8

Ryder leans forward, bending down and easily smashing his lips against Kirstin's, rough and passionate. She follows his lead, kissing back just as harshly. The kiss somehow deepens as they move toward the bed. The back of his thighs hit her bed and he sinks to sit down on to it, pulling the purple haired girl onto his lap, gripping her ass as she straddles him.   
  
When they finally break apart for air, all but gasping, he stares into her purple eyes knowing they should probably be focusing on the Stones or how to get the others back to where they need to be but he all he wants is  _ more _ . More alone time with Kirstin, more joking between the two as they watch a movie, more of  _ this.  _ When he catches his breath enough to speak, he has to grip her head to stop her from kissing him again. He wants to know, mostly due to a comment Mason made that caused Kirstin to get weird, earlier in the day. “Did we do this before?”   
  
The girl seems to hesitate, her hands trailing up his covered torso, using her abilities to pull his hands away, “No.”  **Lie.** A voice inside his head tells him. She wasn't touching any bare skin for the moment, so it's not as though she was forced to tell the truth. For a long moment afterward, he's distracted by their shirts coming off, and Kirstin pulling him in for another heated kiss.   
  
“Liar.” He mutters his voice deeper than before, aroused by the idea, along with the sight in front of him. He picks her up, easily spinning and tossing her onto the bed. He crawls over her, hovering right in front of her face, "We did, didn't we? In one of the timelines? Who made the first move, you or me?"   
  
"I kinda threw myself at you." She says, all confidence seeming to disappear as her flushed cheeks seem to take on a darker red color.   
  
"Yeah? Did you like it?" Her eyes seem to glaze over, clearly getting lost in her thoughts, her bottom lip being tugged on by her teeth as her hips buck up towards him, seeking friction. He smirks, using his thumb to tug her bottom lip out from between her teeth, kissing her gently before coming to whisper in her ear. "You're thinking about it right now, aren't you?"   
  
Kirstin, once obviously distracted by one-sided memories, quickly tries to change the subject back to the present. “So what if I am? Do you really want to focus on something you can't remember? Or would you rather kiss me and see how things go from there?” She pulls him down to kiss her, her words touching something in his brain causing a vivid scene behind his closed eyelids even as he kisses her back.   
  
The entire makeout ( _ almost more _ , Kirstin thinks to herself) session comes to an abrupt halt when Kirstin hears the door open into the small living area of the apartment. Suddenly, she was glad that she kept her bedroom door closed.

“Kirstin?” Pietro's slightly panicked voice calls out. Peter told me you came up here and I was hoping we could talk.” Ryder lets out a sigh, clear understanding that this was her brother, of course, she's going to want to know if everything's okay, something he can't blame her for. Hell, he'd do the same for his sister in a heartbeat. 

Kissing her cheek, he stands, pulling his shirt on. “See you later, Runt.”

“Bye.” She whispers softly smiling as the blue portal opened behind him, disappearing as he walked through.  _ I hope he doesn’t scare anyone with that trick. _ Kirstin heaves herself up off the comfortable bed, “Just a minute, Speedy. I'm not exactly aptly dressed.” 

After she pulls on her shirt and throws her messy hair into an even messier bun, she exits the room to find Pietro sitting on her couch, twitching to all hell. His foot was tapping at a pace that would appear blurry to anyone else without enhanced sight, he was playing with the end of his loose Pink Floyd shirt, a staple in the man’s wardrobe, and he would pause in the act every few seconds, bringing his hand up to his pocket as if to check for something in them. When he notices her, he stands up, moving in to give her a tight hug. 

She had already been home for a week and she’d only seen Pietro maybe twice since she got back. He had been spending most of his time in his apartment, avoiding everyone if he could help it. Wanda claimed it was because he had the flu, so everyone just went along with it, not really questioning  _ how _ exactly a speedster with speed-healing could catch the flu and not be over it within a day or two at most. Kirstin has already spotted the bullshit of this lie, without even having to think too long about it or use any abilities. Really, they were raised by Hydra agents. You’d at least expect them to come up with a better lie than _ ‘the flu’.  _ Though his retching sounds were very believable and extremely gag-worthy and Kirstin really needs to talk to Tony about getting soundproofing she can’t hear through. “Hello, маленький цветок.”  **(Little Flower)**

“Hello… you sound kind of upset. Did something happen?” Kirstin had quickly decided not to beat around the bush, mostly because Pietro looked like he was going to explode with nervous energy and, considering how much energy he had normally, Kirstin kind of thinks it might actually be possible. Either that, or it rubs off onto Kirstin. Neither of those is appealing scenarios.

Pietro pulls away, sending a look that portrays both betrayal and relief in one combined mess of emotions plain as someone writing on his face in permanent marker. “Not even a ‘how are you’?”

“I don’t have to ask you how you are, I can feel the nervousness oozing off of you. Hell, if you were in  _ Kansas _ I’d still probably feel it. You seem like your about to implode.”

“You mean explode?”

Kirstin shakes her head, plopping into the seat next to him on the couch. “No. Implode. Less of a mess.” That earns herself a nerve-free laugh, a split second of fresh air where it doesn’t feel like her older brother is trying to suffocate her with his mind alone. Then it quickly tampers of right back down into nerves yet again, though less severe as before. Kirstin, sadly, had used that type of trick many times and in a number of ways that she’s positive nobody in this Compound would agree with. Except for Natasha. Natasha liked when she used her telepathy on missions. Saved the red-head a lot of trouble.

Pietro’s leg goes back to tapping as they sit in silence. Kirstin waiting for Pietro to speak and Pietro trying to find a way to say whatever the hell was making him so nervous. Instead of speaking, he pulled something out of his pocket, setting it in Kirstin’s hands. It takes her a long moment before realizing what the hell it is before dropping it with a loud yelp. “Gross. You peed on that, why would you hand it to me‽”

“That is what you are going to focus on after I hand you a positive pregnancy test?” Kirstin gets up, moving to the bathroom, Pietro hot on her heels.

“Well, it's better than focusing on  _ how _ exactly you ended up up the duff or who it was with.” She begins scrubbing her hands under the water from the faucet. “I mean, Clint has known Dean longer than I even existed. Phil treats him like a son and Aria treated him like an adorable younger brother, despite the fact that Coulson is technically her cousin so that makes him her adopted second-cousin - if you ignore the fact that Aria herself is adopted- You know what, there is just a lot of adoption in that family. Moving on.” Turning off the faucet without touching it, she dries her clean hands on the towel, moving to stand next to her brother. “I didn’t even know you were a carrier.”

“Neither did I.” At Kirstin’s appalled look, he rolls his eyes. “It’s not like Hydra willingly hands over their files on their experiments to the experiments themselves, Kirstin. And besides, you cannot tell the difference between a Carrier and another mutant without actively looking for it. No one was looking for it because nobody cared to.”

KIrstin nods to herself, thinking over his logic. He had a fair point. Not all carrier men were just born with uteruses, it was a lot more confusing than that. Sometimes they can develop at puberty, something that has to be weird. These types of carriers are often born without a way to give birth, usually resulting in cesarean-sections. Most carriers were this way, though a small few are born with both working parts- all carriers can have children either way, but these ones also have a birth canal and a… yeah, Kirstin didn’t want to think about that. Still, it was extremely understandable that, if Pietro were the more common type of carrier, he wouldn't have a single clue about it. This was actually more old-fashioned, due to the technology in modern times. The child, if checked at birth for a uterus by the doctors, then again after or during puberty to determine whether or not they are carriers, simply to protect people from situations like this; knocked up and having no clue  _ how _ it was possible. “That’s fair… does Clint know?”

“No. That is why I came to talk to you.”

“Me‽ You should be talking to him.”

“I don’t know how to tell him. I can barely wrap my mind around it, how is he going to react? You’ve just said that your father knew Clint longer than anybody else here, you are the best I can get for advice on this!”

“Another kind of fair point. When did you become relatively reasonable?” By this point, they had made it back to the couch, Kirstin flopping back down on it as she thinks. “Well… first of all, you should know not to lie to a telepath. Why are you really telling me? I know Clint wants kids, I know you’ve talked about adopting. He was eager to have kids someday. You know this.”

“I know. I just… I’m not sure  _ I _ want kids. I’m not… how can you just take care of something so small without worrying about ruining it? You have somebody’s life in your hands, their whole outlook on life is based around the way they’re raised and what they are taught. What if I’m not good enough?” Kirstin suddenly has to hold back a laugh, remembering Dean panicking about not being able to cook after Aria passed, how Aria would always try her damndest to make the girl’s lives as normal as possible, despite the jobs their parents had. The worries she knew plagued them constantly as they watched the girls grow up, along with the time Dean accidentally set the kitchen on fire back when he was still working out the kinks in his cooking skills, only a week before they moved out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. owned house, the girls going back to stay with an equally as worried Tony.

“I think parents always worry. I’m near positive all of mine think they were doing it wrong at one point or another. It's just… part of it, I guess. Having to worry about them. As long as you love them unconditionally, then you’re doing it right. Really, other than that, you need to be able to provide for them and you’ve got that covered because I’m nearly positive Tony cares about you too much to kick you out…” She sighs, turning to completely face her older brother. “Listen, I wouldn’t say this unless I didn’t already know where your thoughts are headed. You may not be able to zip off every time you want to help if you have that kid but you can still be a hero. Just a bit more cautious and a little less stupid with yourself. I know first-hand what it feels like to grow up around people who save the world on a constant basis and all I can tell you is;  _ be there _ . Never both go on a mission. Always have someone there, alternating would be preferable. Let them know they're loved, don’t try to make excuses about having to save the world if you end up missing something important to them. Tell them your sorry and mean it.

“After that long speech, I leave you with this; you have options. And while I do strongly believe in ‘your body, your choice’, I think you  _ should _ tell Clint he has a possible offspring. Discuss what you want to do. Don’t rush into this headfirst as you do with everything else, because if you do, Pietro, I will slap you… then be there however you need me.”

“I… that last part was really sweet, in a Kirstin kind of way. Thank you for your advice. Wanda just told me to do whatever I felt was right. And to do a lot of research into the options.” He stares at nothing, subdued in a way that concerned her.

“She isn’t wrong.” Is all she says.

“How do you know so much about this, anyway? It’s not like you ever had a kid.”

“I watch a lot of T.V. and spent a lot of time in high school with slightly out of control telepathy. Teen pregnancy does happen and I just happened to catch some of the girls’ thoughts on the subject. The worries they felt about it. How they were going to afford it. If they were really cut out to be a parent. All of it. I just thought I’d try to soothe those worries in you to the best of my verbal abilities because using telepathy is cheating. Did it work?”

“I think so, yes.” Pietro smiles down at the smaller girl. “Thanks.”

“What are siblings for?” She offers, earning an even wider smile. Then she lets herself shift into a mock-serious voice, “No seriously, I’m asking. I haven’t been able to figure it out yet.”

“Come here and hug me, you weirdo.” He mutters, pulling her into another tight hug. She sits in his arms, squeezing back gently, for once not feeling awkward when being hugged.

“Okay.” She whispers softly, instead of the normal complaints she would normally have.

#

Sebastian enters the sectioned-off room with an airy demeanor, though his hand rested on the stolen blade he had collected from a fallen Shadowhunter. It wasn’t like the dead miss their weapons anyway. “Where are the others?” The platinum blonde declares with a wicked smile, staring the woman down. Amethyst sits on a wooden chair as Ash sleeps unnaturally still in the bed. “We need to start deliberating if we ever plan to take over this world.”

Amethyst stirs her drink, downing the rest of it before slamming the goblet on the wooden table. “I already have a plan.”

“Your plan is foolish and is not suited to my needs.” The mutant fights down a growl, alternatively plastering on a fake smile.

She stands from her chair with the same airy demeanor. It helped that the loose Seelie attire seems to flow around her, making her appear as a mystical creature, rather than a weapon of mass destruction. Everyone underestimates the small, pretty girl despite them being some of the most dangerous creatures in the world. They can have anyone wrapped around their fingers with ease. “Your needs?” Amethyst comes to stand over her lover, letting her hand run down from his cheek until she reaches the end of his necklace, where the Mind Stone sits in its bright red glory.

Sebastian chuckles humorlessly, “My needs, our needs, they are one and the same.”

“You see,” She begins caressing the Stone carefully, smirking to herself as she glances back at the older man. “I don’t think they are. You seek to destroy and continue to take from a broken world that you believe  _ took _ everything from you. Your anger is your downfall. You will never see the big picture.”

“And what might this big picture be, Mistress of the Universe?” Amethyst smirks down at Ash, willing the Reality Stone to work.

“Destruction at first, then rebuilding it over again. It makes for more fun, to topple society and build a better one that the mortals hate… Do you know, that when I discovered the Stones I used the Reality Stone to make myself the bearer of all the Stones, so they wouldn’t harm me if I tried to use them? I think that reality is the true power in the world. You can choose to do anything your heart desires. Of course, there are often consequences. When I made myself the ultimate stone bearer, the other bearers died. I ripped their essence from their bodies and absorbed it myself. I have the best control in our universe.” She separates a piece of the stone from the rest just out of his view, sliding it up her sleeve and willing it to stay there. “The need for power is something we can agree on, is what I’m trying to say.”

Sebastian smiles as she walks forward seductively, “Is it the only thing we agree on?”

“No,” She leans in to kiss him deeply. He returns the kiss with equal enthusiasm, not caring in the slightest that this was the girl his son claimed to love. Their teeth clash harshly as they fight for dominance. In a quick, abnormally strong move, Amethyst pushes him onto the table, Sebastian pushing the contents off as he sprawls back, pulling her to straddle his hips and draw her into another kiss by her hair. She pulls away for a second, barely even breathless, “we agree on many other things.” She undoes the ties on his clothing, annoyed by the amount of effort required to get the older man’s shirt off. Eventually, Sebastian's patience runs thin and he simply tears the shirt over his head tossing it behind him as he pulls the delicate-looking girl in again.

“Like what?” Her hands run over his chest, pushing him back against the table, smirking as his head collides with a slight  _ thud _ , grinding on him, earning a loud groan.

Leaning to where she was hovering over his body, one hand hovering over his chest. “The need for control.” Then she lets the small piece of the stone slide out of her shirt sleeve, pressing the stone into the skin above his heart.“This is my world to rule, not yours. You had your chance and you blew it.”

Sebastian groans for a whole other reason now, pain taking over his previous pleasure. The stone mimics its sister stone- the Reality Stone, that is- turning into an absorbable liquid, giving Amethyst complete control over his mind as long as the Stone runs through his veins. “A whore like you could never rule,” He growls out fighting against the control being placed over him. “You were not meant for such big things.”

“Exactly why I was going to sleep with you.” She shoots back, smiling as he continues to struggle.  _ You will do as I say, Morgenstern.  _ She demands in his head, over the sounds.  _ I own you now. _

“You can never own me. You will… never… have true control, Amethyst. You get what you want through sex and uncontrollable power, not strategy or hard work. You will fail.”

“And you will die when I do. The stones will become volatile to others again without me; it’ll finally finish you pathetic Morgensterns once and for all.”

“I.. will… kill-” Sebastian attempts to force out his final threat, his eyes finally shining a dull red. After a few seconds, the shirtless man sits up smirking at the shorter woman. “Mistress.”

“Sebastian?” Jace calls from the doorway to find them in a compromising position. “Seems you’re already getting acquainted.”

“Yes. We are.” Sebastian states firmly, the Stone in his veins already doing its job.

“Care to join? I promise there is more than enough to go around.” Amethyst offers, letting her untied shirt slip off, easily slipping into a different figure. Clarissa Morgenstern sits in front of him, shirtless in her brother's lap.

“Here I thought Sebastian didn’t like to share.” The man jokes, already pulling his shirt off.

“Sebastian doesn’t get a choice,” Clarissa’s voice rings out, though only Amethyst and Sebastian understand the double meaning of her words. Well, he would if the real Sebastian wasn’t trapped inside his own mind, watching through his eyes as something else- someone else- controls him, screaming about the things he’d do to her when he was set free. “I’m in control now.”


	10. 9

_ Kansas City, Missouri _

Amethyst sits with her legs rested on the desk of the office, examining the view quietly. She played with one of the stones around her neck thinking to herself as images of other realities flash through her mind. She didn’t understand how, in every other timeline, a  _ Shadowhunter _ could be her downfall. Even if the Shadowhunter was more powerful than most, almost equivalent in power if he equipped himself properly, it wasn’t even a fight that took her down. It was  _ love _ . She would have assumed that the ability to love had been beaten out of them just like it had with her but apparently the other versions of her were still too weak to realize love was useless.

_ “It appears the Seelie Queen has sent someone to speak with you, Sir.” _ She could hear a woman’s scoff as she enters the roof, freezing soon after as she notices Amethyst. The purple-haired woman smiles at him.

“What’s the matter, Daddy Dearest? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She begins coyly, letting her feet drop from the desk.

Quickly recovering from his previous shock, as he had been avoiding moving forward in his plan simply on account of his daughter and what she was capable of, he smiles at her. “Kirstin, was it? I can never seem to remember what it is you prefer to be called, Darling.”

“Well, considering I’m not the girl who lives on this Earth, I would prefer my birth name. Amethyst.”

“If you believe that is your birth-name, you are wrongly mistaken,” Michel responds, not exactly cold but clearly calculating. She was from a different earth. Clearly not his earth, Cassie was as dead as possible for beings like them. No, clearly this foolish child was from an earth he hasn’t visited yet.

Amethyst laughs, a hollow sound with no actual amusement in it. “See everyone sees birth the same. When you are born, yadda-yadda-yadda. I see birth as becoming who you truly are, who you’re meant to be. The name I was given then is my birth name, for it was then that I became who I was always meant to be.” She pauses for a moment, examining the nicely dressed meatsuit her father was wearing. She was a pretty woman, it was a shame she’d be most likely brain dead at the end of this. “You need to carry on with your plan.”

“I cannot, Amethyst. Your counterpart, she’s too-”

“Weak. Busy playing house with superheroes and running around with those puny mortals instead of living like the Queen she was meant to be- the Queen  _ I _ was meant to be. If she plans on squandering her potential helping these mortals, I guess I will have to be the one to show her how it’s done, won’t I?”

“You want to kill her, I know you do.” Michael declares harshly. No, he didn’t want his baby girl dead. His weapon was much too precious to him than anything the counterfeit in front of him could offer in her place. They were going to travel through the universe together, destroy want God created just as God destroyed his Cassie. 

“No. I just want her out of my way. If you finish your part of the plan correctly, everything will work out in our favor.”

“Plan? You have a plan?”

“Of course I have a plan, Michael. It's simply a matter of how soon it can be put into motion. You get your little Cassie and I get what’s left of this world.”

“Why would you want a world that’s been burnt to the ground?”

“Because,” Amethyst begins, pulling a knife out of its holster to clean out from under her nails. “Building is just as much fun as destroying. Doing both to a world who hates me? That’s just the cherry on top. I had my fun on my earth, now I’m bored. I want a new plaything that Sebastian can’t play with instead of me. So… what’ll it be,  _ Father _ ?”

Michael stays silent a long moment before taking a step forward, “What is the plan?” Amethyst smirks, tucking her knife away.  _ Perfect. _

#

Kirstin has to hold back a laugh as Peter continues to try and get Clint’s attention. The older man had turned his hearing aids off after Kirstin and Peter started making bird jokes about him. Peter, however, was apparently never informed that Clint was deaf and, in his defense, it was very hard to tell when he was wearing them, done by design simply because they can double as a comm when needed. Now, Kirstin wasn’t sure whether to feel bad about Peter being uninformed or laugh at Peter’s increasingly odd attempts to call for Clint, who was too busy reading something to actually notice. “Do you only answer to Legolas now? You always answer Tony when he calls you that.”

“You know he’s deaf, right? His hearing aids are off.” Kirstin finally interrupts before it could escalate anymore. At the same time, she catches Clint’s attention.  _ Clint, Peter is trying to talk to you. Please give him your attention. _ Rolling his eyes, the dirty blonde turns to face the other guy in the room, turning his hearing aids back on.

“Yes, Spider-Kid?” It was Kirstin’s turn to roll her eyes, ignoring their conversation and instead beginning to brainstorm ideas. They were back to trying to find a way to bring the Stones back, hoping that would be a way to solve most of the problems that were high up on their list. She knew there were still plenty of things that they couldn’t solve, like finding Fenris- who seemed to disappear off the face of the earth- and Michael- who they have no way to track- or even the random guy who apparently showed up while she was gone claiming to be Jonathan Morgenstern, but not Sebastian, or the Livvia girl. Well, if Livvia is from another reality, the Infinity Stones  _ could _ solve that problem. Along with the whole Peggy problem and maybe even the Asgardian problem- that was depending on  _ how _ exactly the space stone works. All of this really sounded amazing, except the major roadblock. They have no idea how to get the stones.

“Kirsty,” Mason states, tapping his hand on the desk a singular time. Kirstin’s head snaps up to find the tall man holding a box out to her. “From Shuri, I guess.”

“Kirsty?” Clint asks with a laugh. “You let him call you Kirsty? I thought you hated people calling you that now?”

“Not really. It’s just reserved for Mason. So don’t call me that.” She demands, grabbing the box and opening it. Inside is a note, along with two small metal spheres. Kirstin picks up the balls, tossing them in the air and catching them, smiling as a light purple undertone appears. Thinking for a moment, she turns and throws the same ball at the wall, watching as it turns a darker purple and then, when she thinks about it doing so, it sends out a blast that sends the chairs around it flying backward.

“Awesome.” Peter starts out quietly, coming to stand next to Kirstin. “Shuri gave you these?”

“Mhm.” The ball comes flying back into her hand, the smirk growing as the purple undertone appears again. “It has an open telepathic channel, tuned to my telepathy, along with my other abilities. She had to have worked with Tony on it; he’s the only one who is allowed to have that information.” Kirstin rolls the ball around in her hand, surprised by how light it felt for how much tech had to have been in it. It was small enough to fit in her palm but big enough to do some damage if you hit someone with it. 

“How does that work? A telepathic channel tuned to your abilities?” Clint questions, never realizing it was possible to do something like that. 

Setting the ball down, she flails her hand for a second, trying to grasp a way to explain it. “Every… every brain is unique, you know. So every telepath has a different signature, left in the brain. People who’ve spent time with multiple telepaths can confirm this. Charles, Wanda, Jean, David, and I; we’re all similar, due to genetics, but different because we aren’t the same person. An inexperienced person may believe that we would have the same signatures but life experiences also affect how the brain develops, thus affecting our telepathic signatures. They altered the ball to activate under my telepathic signature and to activate and adapt to my abilities. It's really fascinating and complicated. This would have had to take a while to get it right.” She grabs the note, deciding to read it while Peter and Mason examine the spheres. “Either way, I am  _ so _ calling these Super Balls.”

“Oh god,” Mason mutters under his breath. “I need to keep you away from Wade. He’s rubbing off on you.”

_ Kirstin, _

_ Hope you enjoy your new weapons. Maybe you will even consider getting rid of those archaic blades and daggers. (Probably not.) Either way, I noticed a severe lack of long-distance weapons for you and created these as an attempt to remedy that. Further instructions on how to use them are on the back of this note, though I doubt you will need them. Enjoy. _

_ Shuri _

_ P.S.: No, you cannot call them Super Balls or any variation of this name. I have been calling them Attack Spheres or, as an alternative, STATS (Spherical Telepathic Attack Technology).  _

“Damn. I was really hoping I could call these Super Balls.” She complains, having one of the STATs come to her hand, earning a surprised yelp from Peter and a snort of amusement from Mason. Kirstin turns to face him, laughing at the embarrassed blush tinting his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“You just startled me. I was squeezing it to see if they’d go off.” He explains, rubbing the back of his neck in a show of discomfort.

“So you were squeezing the Super Balls?” Peter starts laughing at her statement, instantly lifting the weird mood she had been in since she got to the Compound. The Board had pissed her off and then she was running around with Ryder and she just found out Pietro is pregnant and doesn’t know if Clint knows and now she has a date with Ryder and she had been in a constant state of going. Now that she’s actually stopped  _ going _ , she could feel the odd sensation that something was wrong. She didn’t like it. Mason reaches over and flicks her, when she momentarily spaces out, handing her the other STAT.

“I’m glad you aren’t allowed to call them that.”

“Says the teenage boy with sticky hands as one of his abilities.” She fires back earning a groan from the older teen that was equal parts amused and annoyed.

“New subject.” 

“Blobfish.” Mason declares loudly.

“I swear to god, Mase, I will throw you off a damn cliff.”


	11. 10

Kirstin looks back at John, clearly unimpressed. “I already know about the Cuckoos, John, relax. No need to worry about accidentally saying something you didn’t mean to. Now, can you take me to meet the girl from Thule, or do I need to talk to Lorna first?”

“No, Lorna is busy with Clarice. Hence why I’m here. And yeah, she’s in the girl’s dorm. Come on.” The long-haired man tilts his head in the direction they need to go, waiting for her to start walking before matching her pace.

They walk in relative silence, the only noise coming from the students (at least the ones who were at the school in August) around them- the students often stayed out as late as possible so, despite it being dark out, there were plenty of people around- rather than them having any conversation. It was actually kind of nice, hanging around with John because he isn’t one to force conversation when one isn’t needed. They weren’t uncomfortable, they were just quiet. Another bonus to being around him was that, since he was one of the first students- because she does not count the gang that helped stop Shaw as  _ students _ \- to have trained under Charles, he knew how to keep his thoughts to himself, even when he touches a telepath, and she was beyond grateful for that. She could hear the other minds buzzing around her, and sometimes it was peaceful to only feel his presence, not hear the underlying thought. Other times it was hell.

She examined the view around her. The new school had been built, by design, high tech and much, much larger. The old Mansion was a ten-minute drive away, meaning that the X-men that live there can still teach at the school. There are even hidden tunnels running to the Xavier-Lehnsherr house at the far end of the property. It looked a lot like the old mansion but was smaller. They had twenty bedrooms, yes- mainly because Charles and Erik procreated like rabbits and had eleven kids, so there had to be room for family reunions when grandkids are born- but that was still a lot less than the Mansion.

The school though. It was huge. There were three dorms that house the students keeping women and anyone who identifies as a woman in one, and the opposite gender in another. The dorms were twice the size of the mansion and housed any kids from the youngest mutants at the school to a few teachers, who make sure nothing goes amiss in the dorm. There was also boarding for teachers and the rest of the staff behind the school.

There were three school buildings in the entire school. Kindergarten through sixth grade in one building, seventh through twelfth grade in another, and college courses in the last one. The college was considered the mutant branch of NYU and it was funded by Minkus International, Stark Industries, and Charles. It also contained an Art Institute and music classes now. The two companies had created a smaller merged section of the companies made to make affordable products for modern people, meaning that Tony and Minkus were working pretty closely at the moment. It also meant that Farkle and Kirstin have been trying to encourage the work because it meant they could hang out and actually talk about what they and their guardians are working on. For the most part, anyway.

  
  


Before long, they reach the room he was leading her to, knocking lightly on the door. “Livia? You remember the reality warper I wanted you to meet?” He paused for a moment before opening the door carefully to reveal a brunette girl scrolling through an out of date smartphone that was on the charger. “She’s here to see you.”

Kirstin steps into the room, stepping around John to get in. The second after a pair of sea-green eyes snap up to see her, a gun is pointing at her. “Amethyst.”

Normally anger would boil up within her at that name. This time, however, when she heard it from a stranger from a different world, it was curiosity bubbling up instead. “No. Haven’t been called that since I was seven, sorry. My name is Kirstin.” The mutant sticks her hand out to Livia, taking a step forward despite the gun pointed between her eyes. Livia stares down at her hand like it was something that could give her a disease. With a sigh, Kirstin lets her hand drop, using her other hand to grab Livvia’s wrist and, instead of trying to take the gun from her, presses the barrel directly onto her forehead, removing her hand from the girl’s wrist just as quickly as she grabbed it. She can feel the intense need to do something from John, so he sends him a wave of calm, showing him that she was completely unphased by the gun. “If you wanna shoot me, then shoot me. I won’t stop you. But you should know that, when we find the Infinity Stones, I am the only person that could bear the Reality Stone. Meaning, more likely than not, I am the  _ only _ person that can get you back home.”

“Who says I want to go home?” She snaps, her grip on the gun tightening.

“The phone. The charger is haphazardly plugged in and the phone is open to the gallery. You were clearly in a rush to charge it, even if it was to just look at people you care about and can’t get to. I’ve heard your world was hell, so… maybe if you don’t want to go home, you could bring people you trust here.” Livia’s gun wavers for a moment and Kirstin can tell without reading her mind she had found a way to convince her not to paint the wall with her brain matter. At least for now.

“Even if you aren’t Amethyst, you’re still a telepath. You’re reading my mind, feeding me fables created by my own impossible wishes.”

“No. Not every mutant relies on their abilities, Livia. You should have learned that by now, staying here. I don’t read minds unless I find it necessary. Just like I haven’t sent the gun flying out of your hand, or turned it to dust because it isn’t necessary.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you never turned the safety off. If you really thought the bullet would hurt me, or you really thought I was the Amethyst from your world, you wouldn’t have left the safety on and you certainly wouldn’t have given me a chance to speak. You wanted to see if I was like her, quick to violence and anger when people threaten me or disobey me, to see if I was a threat. Instead, you see me as someone who is willing to risk a bullet to the brain instead of attempting to subdue a scared child who has fought in a war she never should have had to.” Livia slowly lowering the gun, eyes flickering over to the doorway. Turning around she finds Charles and Erik standing where John once stood.

“So you’re not Amethyst. You’re not a threat. You still lied in an attempt to soothe me. We can’t get my people over here.” The Blackthorn snaps, tossing the gun onto the bed.

“Who says?”

“You can’t even get me home!”

“Not yet but that is because you ended up here due to circumstances out of our control. Technically, I  _ might _ be able to get you back to that world. Usually, portals that jump realities require some serious power that we do not have at the moment or a dreamwalker and I doubt I can get either of these things at the moment. So we either wait until I figure out how to open one of these on my own or we get the Reality Stone back and I use it to open a portal. Either way, we can get your friends over here. I’ve done something like that before.” Livia raises a curious eyebrow. “We call it Apocalypse World. Lucifer and Michael fought, wiping out most of the humans and driving the monsters insane from bloodlust. Shadowhunters were either on Michael’s side or dead and Hunters and Mundanes were the only ones left. Rounded up as many as we could and brought them back here. Sadly, Michael got back here too, but that was something he did by making a deal with the devil… literally. Not his devil, our devil… multiverses are complicated if The Arrowverse and our own experience are anything to go by anyway.” 

Livia stares at her for a long moment soaking in what she said. “Okay, yeah. If you can get a portal open, I want to bring people I know can be trusted here. But,” Kirstin sighs, prepared for some sort of threat, “we have to get rid of a threat first.”

“Let me guess, Amethyst?” Livia nods slowly, meeting her eyes. “Okay. I mean, how hard can it be to-” She cuts herself off mid-sentence, hearing her phone start to ring. Pulling it out of her pocket, she finds that Jack was calling her. “Jack?”

“Michael is back inside Dean-”  _ Poor choice of words, _ Kirstin thinks, despite herself. “-Michael is sending a bunch of monsters for us, drawing them to his location, and Sam and Dean are  _ inside _ Dean’s mind trying to save him and I have no idea what I’m doing, Kirstin! Please come help!”

It takes her a total of two seconds to decide that  _ yeah,  _ Jack needed her. “Do you want me to grab Avery?”

“I don’t care, just hurry, please.” 

“Okay, I’m on my way.” She hangs up the phone snapping and pointing at the two different parts of the room people were standing in, “I have to go. Monsters are on the prowl, Michael needs to be fucked up, my adoptive family is full of complete idiots that do not think to call the  _ telepath _ to get inside someone’s head and instead are using ancient torture tech, and Jack sounds like he’s about to spiral into a full-blown panic attack. And I need to get Avery. Bye.” The lights flicker slightly as she disappears, causing Livvia to jump.

Charles looks at the girl in part-sympathy, part amusement, “You’ll get used to that.”

“Glad at least one of us has,” Erik mutters to himself, wishing he could go to protect his daughter. “I am going to go make sure Lorna hasn’t burnt dinner.” 

#

Jack lets out a loud sigh of relief when the two girls appear in front of him, each clearly ready for their part in whatever plan they came up with. Avery had a machete in a holster attached to her waist, a gun on the other hip, and an angel blade in her hand. Kirstin had throwing knives attached to thigh holsters, along with the STATS tucked into their little pouch on her side, something Kirstin had found endlessly amusing. The rest of the hunters enter the room soon after they arrive. “Monsters! We're barely ahead of them.” Maggie calls out at the same time Kirstin reaches into Dean’s mind. “Where's Sam? We need-” She cuts herself off when she sees the trio of men seemingly unconscious, Kirstin’s eyes flicking around like she was reading some sort of book or a fast-paced scene in a movie. “What's going on?” 

“They're trying to help Dean,” Jack explains as a loud banging comes from the doorway, along with some grunts.

“Is that-?” Avery questions, already loading the gun.

“It's them,” Maggie confirms, loading her own gun. “Okay, they can't- They won't be able to get through the door.”   
  


“They won't have to.” Tiger states, smirking as the door opens.”   
  


“Tiger?” Maggie yelps out. 

Said man begins attempting to attack her, “Tiger shouldn't have gone in the woods alone.” After a few moments of wrestling as Avery and the others shoot at the monsters in the entryway. “You should've locked the door.”

Before Tiger could do any damage Avery sticks her hand out, a large enough blast escaping it to blow the man’s head off. “Sorry, Tiger.” The blonde states quietly, tossing her gun away and beginning to send blasts at the monsters’ heads. There were still too many of them and soon, most of the hunters were tossed to the side like rag dolls, a weaponless Maggie tucked against a wall with nowhere to go, and Avery quickly becoming outnumbered even as she fights like hell, taking out most of the monsters. Jack stood there in the entryway, uncertain of what to do. “Jack? I know you’re not completely sure of your abilities but I honestly believe that the people here would rather be toated hunters than Michael’s monster henchmen, so if you could-” Jack extends his hand letting out a cry of pure anger. A yellow blast rips through the room, the lightbulbs within it and even the next room over shattering as the monsters are instantly destroyed in the blast, The Hunters simply tumbling to the side again. “-Wow. I wish I could do that.” The blonde complains, dropping into a crouch despite the heels she was wearing.

_ Meanwhile, Kirstin finally finds where the boys are at just in time to see Dean shove Michael into an… _ industrial freezer? _ and slam the door shut. Michael begins pounding on the door, the shaking earning looks of concern from the others. “It'll hold. My mind, my rules. I got him.” Dean lets out a heavy breath. _

_ “Would it make you feel better to have a little back-up on that cage?” Kirstin questions from behind them. “I’m no Charles Xavier or anything but I’m pretty good at what I do.’ _

_ “I thought we agreed to keep her away while we were dealing with Michael?” Dean asks harshly, turning to face his angel and his brother. _

_ “They did. Nobody gave Jack the memo and he was panicking. Seriously though, I’m going to help you with this. I’m, personally, not sure how good I am at this, but even if your barrier does break, mine should help it last longer.” Before they could argue, Kirstin lets her head tilt back, reinforcing the wall Dean had put up. The men watch as the handle disappears from the door, the wall seems to seal the door shut, even as the banging continues. “Now come on. Let’s make sure nobody is dead out there.” Kirstin reaches out for their hands tugging them toward her. _

Kirstin reaches out for each man’s consciousness, tugging it forward until all three of them came to, each with a startled gasp. “Hello, boys. Anyone want to tell me why I wasn’t invited to this party?”


End file.
